Transport in Togo

Transport access differs sharply between Grand Lomé and other parts of Togo. SOTRAL provides formal urban bus service in Grand Lomé; its network had 19 lines, including 8 student lines, in 2022. Tickets can be bought on board or at kiosks, and fares recorded from 23 December 2024 ranged from 100 to 300 F CFA. Outside Grand Lomé, taxi-motos, taxis, cars and minibuses are the main practical choices. Taxi fares are regulated, but a single current nationwide fare table is not consistently published. Service frequency, vehicle capacity and departure times can vary by place and provider. Taxi-motos, also called zémidjans, are a central form of everyday mobility. Walking is common for short trips, but many roads in Lomé have mixed traffic, limited sidewalks and only occasional pedestrian crossings. Cycling is affordable and used for daily and short-distance travel, although protected cycling facilities and a nationwide bicycle-sharing system have not been reliably documented. Local safety conditions vary considerably. Interurban travel uses major corridors such as RN1 between Lomé and Cinkassé, RN2 toward Cotonou and the Abidjan-Lagos corridor, RN5 toward Kpalimé and RN17. Coaches, cars, minibuses and taxis serve these connections. Seventy-six interurban passenger and freight connections were covered by regulated or capped fares from 10 December 2024, but journey times and departure schedules remain dependent on the provider. Cross-border travel also follows UEMOA and ECOWAS rules and may require the relevant inter-state documents. Togo Rail currently serves freight transport, especially minerals and clinker, rather than passenger commuting. Historical lines included Lomé-Blitta, Lomé-Kpalimé and Lomé-Aného. A planned rehabilitation project for the Port Autonome de Lomé to the Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé is intended to support container transport, with a reported completion target of 2031 and project financing of USD 200 million; this does not confirm a return of passenger trains. For private vehicles and taxi-motos, the usual compliance documents include a driving licence for the relevant vehicle category, registration or a carte grise, insurance and a technical inspection. A December 2024 example listed technical inspection fees of 4,000 F CFA for light cars and 4,500 F CFA for heavy vehicles. An urban transport booklet can require the carte grise, insurance and two fiscal stamps of 500 F CFA each; its validity may range from six to twelve months and applications are handled at a physical counter. The Direction des Transports Routiers et Ferroviaires, or DTRF, handles driving licences, registration and technical inspection. The Ministère des Transports, du Désenclavement et des Pistes Rurales, territorial authorities and the District Autonome du Grand Lomé share responsibilities, while the Ministère de la Sécurité supports enforcement and the OTR handles tax-related matters. Togo's road traffic code applies to drivers, vehicles, passengers and other road users. Seat belts apply to all occupants, helmets are required on two-wheelers, and using a mobile phone while driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fleeing an accident and overloading are prohibited. The urban speed limit for passenger and freight transport vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles is 50 km/h. Outside urban areas, taxi speeds are limited to 90 km/h, vehicles carrying dangerous goods to 70 km/h and motorcycles to a range of 60 to 90 km/h depending on engine capacity. Driving without a valid licence can lead to a fine of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 F CFA and/or one to three years of imprisonment. Enforcement is uneven, so compliance remains a practical safety issue. Air travel is concentrated at Aéroport International Gnassingbé Eyadema, or AIGE, which handled 1,506,946 passengers in 2024. ASKY is a major regional carrier, alongside other international airlines. The Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Togo, or ANAC-Togo, and the airport authorities oversee aviation matters. The Port Autonome de Lomé, or PAL, is primarily a freight and transit facility; no comparable public domestic passenger service has been established there. Road safety is a major transport concern. Official figures recorded 20,942 crashes, 28,501 injuries and 1,826 deaths in 2022-2024. In the first half of 2026, authorities recorded 3,191 crashes, 314 deaths and 4,695 injuries. Motorcycles are particularly exposed, and excessive speed accounted for about 60% of reported causes. Enforcement has focused on corridors including RN1, RN5 and RN34. Transport policy under the 2023 law links public and private transport with safety, comfort, security, continuity, adaptability, equality and environmental standards. Togo remains highly dependent on fossil fuels for transport. Transport emissions rose by 278% between 1995 and 2018 and could rise by another 42% by 2030 without additional measures; transport accounts for more than 40% of energy-related emissions. The national low-carbon electric mobility strategy published in 2025 considers electric two- and three-wheelers, electric buses, stronger public transit, a shift of freight from roads to rail, active mobility and vehicle-efficiency or age criteria. These measures are still mainly in the planning or project stage, and no reliable nationwide rollout timetable or standard end-user price has been established.