Passengers traveling with interurban transport agency, Nso Boyz, from Bamenda to Yaounde were left stranded in the middle of the night at Mbatom, a locality in the West Region, after their bus broke down and could not continue the journey.
According to several passengers on board, the bus had departed Bamenda at about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, but mechanical issues began almost immediately.
“Our problem started since on the Station Hill in Bamenda, the bus struggled on that hill a lot,” said a visibly frustrated woman who was among the 35 people onboard.
The bust fist broke down in Bafoussam. The driver called a mechanic who managed the situation but said he could not fix it because the car needed to be dismantled.
The vehicle eventually ground to a halt in Mbatom, a few hours into the trip, and never recovered.
Passengers say the driver admitted that he was assured by the agency’s chief mechanic in Bamenda to “manage the car” and hope it reached Yaounde.
“I can’t count how many times I’ve been abandoned by Nso Boyz. This is the fourth time just this year,” lamented another male passenger.
“All agencies have their problems, but this one is the worst. They don’t maintain their vehicles.”
For years, poor roads were often blamed for the breakdowns and delays plaguing the interurban transport system.
However, passengers are now questioning what excuse Nso Boyz can offer, given that the once-infamous Bamenda–Babadjou road stretch has been rehabilitated.
Despite this, breakdowns continue to occur with alarming frequency.
“Managers do not maintain vehicles. You find a bus that does a 10-hour journey, arrives, and is sent off again without any checks or repairs,” another passenger explained.
To add to the frustration, transport fares on the Bamenda–Yaounde route have skyrocketed from 5,000 FCFA to as high as 6,500 FCFA in recent months, without any improvement in service delivery. Passengers say they’re paying more for less.
In Sunday night’s incident, at least three passengers missed crucial early-morning appointments in Yaounde due to the breakdown.
“No refund, no apology, just abandonment and delays,” one of them said.
Seven hours later, Nso Boyz reportedly sent a replacement bus from Yaounde to rescue the stranded travelers.
But when it arrived, it offered little comfort. “The second bus was dirty and looked completely worn out. We were just forced to enter because we had no choice,” another traveler said.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about the regulation and oversight of interurban transport agencies in Cameroon.
Passengers are calling on the Ministry of Transport to urgently step in and impose stricter controls, particularly in the North West and South West regions, where breakdowns and neglect have become routine.
As of now, Nso Boyz Travel Agency has made no official comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, public frustration continues to mount over what many describe as an “unsafe and poorly regulated” transport system.
