A thorough investigation by this Verity News has uncovered alarming evidence of widespread overloading and damaged tires on the National Transit Authority (NTA) buses, raising serious safety concerns for passengers traveling across Liberia.
Videos and photographs obtained by Verity News show NTA buses packed with excessive cargo, occupying passenger seating areas and blocking emergency exit routes-practices that many commuters warn could prove fatal in the event of an accident.
One of the affected passengers, Joanna Saymu Gaye, who boarded an NTA bus traveling from Nimba County to Monrovia on Monday, January 5, 2026, recounted a terrifying experience.
“I was in this same car yesterday, and it almost killed us. Thank God for my life because we talked and warned them. Everywhere we passed, people were telling us the car tyres were not good, but they never listened. They just kept putting in more loads. I will never ride NTA again,” Gaye lamented.
In one widely circulated video on social media, an NTA bus is seen dangerously overloaded to the point that its tyres burst, placing dozens of commuters at risk.
The footage captures distressed passengers shouting and calling on NTA management to immediately halt what they describe as a “dangerous daily practice.”
“They do this every day,” another passenger onboard an NTA bus from Sanniquellie told Verity News.
A separate passenger narrated his ordeal after a tyre burst while the bus was navigating a curve between Totota and Salala.
“We boarded NTA from Sanniquellie to Monrovia. While coming, between Totota and Salala-near a village not far from the Salala checkpoint-the tyre burst and the bus lost control of a curve,” he explained.
“Everyone was confused and panicking, trying to find their way out, but there was no exit because the bus was overloaded.”
Passengers say emergency exits were blocked by cargo, leaving them trapped and helpless during the incident.
The recurring complaints have sparked public outrage, with commuters calling on the NTA management and transport regulators to urgently intervene, enforce safety standards, and prioritize human lives over profit.
As of press time, NTA authorities had not responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
