Mercato is also a terminal for both city and intercity (or cross-country) buses. There are numerous business undertakings related to the transport services. There are of course those that go to Mercato just to loaf around and enjoy being a part of the show. These days the grain market center at Emanuel Berenda is the most frequented area for understandable reasons. Many pack animals loaded full with sacks of teff or cereals are driven through the thick crowd as their drivers yell warnings and flog the beasts to prevent them from bumping into passers by. Porters run stot would only be fair to take up the landline transport terminal. The terminal located adjacent to the Telecommunications business office handles smaller buses with a loading capacity below 45 passengers and covering distances not more than 140 or so kilometres radius from the centre of the city.
 

 The second larger terminal accommodates buses that cross the country with loading capacities above 45 up to 65 passengers. On the northern end of the compound there are ticket and administrative offices. In former years the terminal used to be located at the center of Mercato near what is now known as the Asfaw Wosen Hotel before it was moved to its present location a couple of decades ago. There are now at least four additional long distance travelling bus terminals at the four corners of the capital to enable easy access for travellers.
 

 The terminal is centrally managed from a command post known as "Office Number One" run by the Addis Abeba Roads Authority. Work starts before daybreak. A self-employed 40-man strong squad patrols on a 2-shift basis inside the compound keeping law and order in the compound. The attendants wear uniforms and have their ID cards with laminated passport size photos hanging on their chests. The owners of the buses or the share companies that have established their own associations pay these men. Associations like the Alem, Walya Transport and Anbessa deploy hundreds of buses. The associations have their own ticket offices and employees including inspectors.
 

 I met Belachew Dejene, a 30-year old member of the safety patrol squad who claims to have been in the business since his teen-age years. He wears his clean uniform and proudly sports his badge on his chest. The interview was conducted under the shade of his umbrella as it was showering lightly. There is not much space for customers to take shelter under the narrow veranda.

 The arriving buses were interrupting us although the intrusion was a welcome opportunity for me to sense what it is like to be a member of the safety patrol. Belachew says he has been able to witness a radical change at the terminals since recent years particularly after the current manager took over. The committed manager has made it to come to the office as early as 5am in the morning to supervise what goes on.
 

 Intruders are not allowed to get into the compound unless they carry luggage of passengers. There are scales on which the luggage is weighed. Passengers are allowed to load up to 25kg free of charge. The transport cost for long distance journey is roughly one birr per 10Km distances. One of the virtues of the new administration is that if someone loses his luggage on the bus, he or she would certainly find it safely stored in the compound as long as he or she can produce evidence of ownership.

I saw a couple of women passengers carrying their luggage on their heads while carrying their small children on their backs. The time of departure of the first batch of the cross-country buses is normally half past 6 in the morning. The second and third batches leave the terminal as soon as they are full. People who come to welcome their friends or relatives are kept away at the gates after 6pm.