Ever met someone, especially a woman as bold as Florence Marfo, a seasoned female VIP bus driver in Ghana?

Well, it takes quite a handful of women to take up roles that are usually perceived to be for men. She has defied all that and taken up that bold step.

In 2018, during an interview with Daily Graphic, the polytechnic graduate and the mother of three said her greatest consideration was the safety of her passengers.

Marfo, who has been with the company for years, stated: “Yes, I have the responsibility to take good care of my bus, but the safety of my passengers is of utmost importance to me.”

Educational background

A native of Obo Kwahu in the Eastern Region, Florence’s interest in driving began while she was a student at Takoradi Polytechnic. After graduating in 2002, she tried her hand at hairdressing and later ran a restaurant in Adabraka, Accra.

But the call to transport work persisted. In 2005,sz she joined Metro Mass Transit (MMT) as a conductor, a role in which female staff were rare and set her sights on becoming a driver.

Her breakthrough came in 2009 when MMT, following a directive to recruit female drivers, selected a group of women for intensive training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Florence completed three and a half months of instruction there, emerging top of her cohort despite language barriers. She then finished the required training in Ghana and obtained a Driver’s Licence F, qualifying her to operate heavy-duty vehicles and trailers.

By 2010, she was a full-time MMT driver on the Accra–Tema and Accra–Ashaiman routes and was later transferred to Kumasi in 2015. Her competence and calm behind the wheel earned her respect and responsibility, and eventually a new challenge.

Joining VIP company

Moving to VIP Jeoun Company Limited was a deliberate step. Florence described the decision as a search for new opportunities, not an escape.

According to her, she faced scepticism largely because there were no female drivers at VIP and some tried to discourage her bus owner from hiring her.

Her owner, known as Agya Wiase, refused to be swayed. He paired Florence with a male driver for a month of handover, then entrusted the bus to her.

Her performance later earned her a saloon car as a gift from the owner of the transport business she worked for.

He also provided building materials to support a personal project, gestures Florence attributes to her impeccable safety record and professionalism.

Florence’s driving philosophy

Florence said in the interview that her approach to the job is practical and spiritual. She says she prays for protection before every trip, a habit encouraged by her bus owner.

“I have the responsibility to take good care of my bus, but the safety of my passengers is of utmost importance to me,” she told the Daily Graphic.

That focus has kept her accident-free and earned her the confidence of passengers and employers alike.

Being the only woman among roughly 800 drivers at the company does not intimidate her. Instead, it motivates her to live the slogan she believes in: “Whatever a man can do, a woman can do better.”

She wants to demystify the idea that certain jobs belong only to men and to open the road for other women.

Florence is candid about the hazards she faces. Ghana’s roads, she says, are often dangerous: broken down vehicles, poor road markings and inadequate lighting make night driving especially risky.

Her appeal to authorities is straightforward — improve the roads and save lives. For Florence, professionalism behind the wheel must be matched with safer infrastructure.
 
Florence’s story is not a sudden headline but the product of years of steady work, training and quiet determination.

Today she drives some of the country’s longest routes; Accra-Kumasi, Accra-Techiman, Accra-Sunyani and Accra-Wa.

VKB/VPO