YovoTaxi

Taxi Chauffeur

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taxi chauffeurWhen I returned to Togo in 1990, I ran a bushtaxi in the mountains of southern Togo. With my '82 Toyota Hiace I served the mountainous 15-mile (22 KM) route Yikpa - Adéta - Kpalimé. Once a week, I did a tour to the capital, Lomé. I also did many charter trips, for merchants, tourists and for Peace Corps. Those trips went all over Togo, several times into Benin, once to Ghana, and once to Burkina Faso.

 

 

  

The road across the plateau.

Life as a Taxi-chauffeur was not bad at all. I made decent money, got around, hung out with all kinds of folks, and taught a couple of friends to drive. But when the civil unrest started, with general strikes and sporadic violence, life got a lot tougher. Business ground to a standstill. I could not maintain the vehicle, because I did not make enough money. Finally, in early 1991, the Toyota's clutch seized. I had no money to fix it, and so I had to shut down operations.

Rainy season road conditions

 
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