Hilarious as it may seem, the Tata Bus was considered a luxury in the Ghanaian community between the 1970s and the late 2000s. This period marked a transition from walking, using canoes, and other traditional means of transport to the use of vehicles.
I did not have any vivid encounters with these saviors of time and conveyors of commuters. However, one thing that stood out to me was the boisterous yet compassionate call of the conductors whenever they shouted, “Oya lo?”—a phrase that translates to “Are you going?”
Times have truly changed. Those animated calls have quieted down, just as the chassis, body, and cabin of these vehicles have evolved.
Times have changed, and there may no longer be familiar faces jumping onto these buses to reach their destinations. Times have changed, but one thing remains constant—the art of motion, regardless of the vehicle you find yourself in.
People will get on and off. Models will come and go. But the journeys we choose to embark on should be our constant presence—for we have only one time to be in motion before we become motionless.
Oya lo? Get on and move!
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