The news of talks between Sam George, Yango, and the Transport Ministry may sound exciting.

But let’s be clear: Ghana does not need more cars on the road. What we need is a transport system that works for everyone—not just the privileged few with smartphones and disposable income.

Right now, our cities are groaning under the weight of congestion. Cars occupy nearly three-quarters of urban road space in Accra, yet serve less than one percent of the population.

Meanwhile, over 95 percent of Ghanaians rely on walking and trotros to get around.

The math doesn’t add up, and the injustice is obvious, and this injustice has a human face.

Women, children, and the elderly are systematically excluded by a system that wasn’t designed for them. Mothers carrying loads or traveling with children are routinely denied entry into trotros.

Elderly people struggle on streets without sidewalks or safe crossings. The “mobility of care”—the daily trips to fetch water, take children to school, or care for elders—falls heavily on women, but transport planning barely acknowledges this reality.

Transport scholars have long warned us about this failure. Karel Martens, in Justice, insists that fairness in mobility should be measured not by efficiency or speed, but by whether people can access life’s opportunities.

Karen Lucas calls this “travel poverty”—when poor transport access locks people out of work, healthcare, education, and markets.

That is exactly what we see in Ghana today: a system that works for cars, not for people.

Lessons for Ghana: What Must Change

1. Build integrated public and active transport. Trotros, buses, BRT, cycling, and walking must be connected, affordable, and reliable.

2. Make our streets walkable and bikeable. Sidewalks, safe crossings, lighting, and cycle paths are not luxuries—they are necessities.

3. Plan with women in mind. Stops near schools and clinics, and vehicles that accept passengers with children and loads, would make an immediate difference.

4. Design for inclusion. Low-floor buses, ramps, and safe routes must be standard for the elderly and disabled.

5. Curb car dominance. Disincentivize private cars in congested zones and invest instead in public options.

As Austrian planner Hermann Knoflacher once said, cars spread through cities like a virus.

His “walkmobile”—a wooden frame showing the absurd amount of space a car Consumes—reminds us that cars fragment urban life.

Ride-hailing apps may feel modern, but they are not the future Ghana needs. Without deep reform, they will only add to congestion, pollution, and inequality.

Our focus must be on justice—ensuring that walking, cycling, and public transport provide safe, reliable, and dignified mobility for all, especially those systemically excluded.

As Martens reminds us, it is time to center transport planning around people, not performance.

Fairness must be measured in opportunities unlocked, not cars added.