Trotro Driver Celebrates Birthday by Offering Free Rides to Passengers

• A generous trotro driver surprised his passengers with free rides to celebrate his birthday, as he announced during the trip
• This was especially heartwarming amid ongoing disputes between drivers and passengers over adherence to the GPRTU directives
• The driver's kindness received widespread praise on social media, with many netizens expressing admiration and well-wishes

In a heartwarming scene, a trotro driver decided to surprise his passengers early in the morning on his birthday.

In a video trending on social media, a generous trotro driver surprised his passengers with free transportation as a special way of celebrating another year added to his age.

This came as unexpected news to some of the passengers due to the ongoing tension between many trotro drivers and those using them as a means of transport.

YEN.com.gh also reported on altercations between the parties due to the drivers' alleged non-adherence to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union's (GPRTU) directives.

Trotro driver announces free ride on bday

In the video, making waves online, the mate made the announcement midway through the trip.

He announced that it was his master's birthday, and because of that, he had decided to go to the final destination, which was the Circle Kaneshie bus terminal.

The mate said:

"Good morning to everyone. Good morning to my passengers. Today is our master's birthday. He says we should pick passengers for free. We will not take money from anyone. From Mbawatia to Circle Kaneshie - from here where we have started, today the car is free.

"When we get to Mbawatia and pick passengers, we will take money from them. So everyone should know that from here to Kaneshie, we will pick anyone, we will not take money from anyone. Because it is our master's birthday. So help me wish him a happy birthday. We will not take money from anyone. It's his birthday."

Many passengers showed their appreciation by thanking the driver and wishing him a happy birthday.

The video of the mate announcing the free ride offer from the trotro driver is below.

Netizens react to trotro driver's birthday gift

YEN.com.gh had collated some reactions to the video shared by @sikaofficial1 on Twitter below.

@EfyaBerlin wrote:

"God bless the driver for his kind gesture."

@EsinamJean commented:

"The wind of change is just infectious. HAPPINESS ALL YEAR LONG."

@metamorfos28 opinionated:

"Some Ghanaians really don’t know how to show appreciation; especially when a kind gesture of this sort is hard to come by. Happy birthday to the driver though."

@PromzyKingston commented:

"Wow. This is unbelievable. Good people exist."

Many were surprised by the driver's good nature, considering that passengers are generally facing harassment from trotro drivers due to the GPRTU's 15% fare reduction directive.

Many passengers, especially women, have reported cases of being assaulted, shoved, and even insulted by trotro drivers and mates during conversations about transport fares.

Taxi driver rejects fare, returns passenger

YEN.com.gh had earlier reported that following a decline in fuel prices and the appreciation of the Ghana cedi, the GPRTU directed all drivers to reduce transport fares by 15%. However, a taxi driver at the UPSA taxi rank refused to follow this directive, insisting on charging the old fare.

After taking a female passenger to her destination, the driver rejected her attempt to pay the new fare and drove her back to the pickup point. She recorded the heated confrontation, during which he claimed that all UPSA taxi rank drivers had refused to comply with the directive.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh