Government and Fematro agree on “urgent” need for new public transport tariff

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Government and Fematro agree on “urgent” need for new public transport tariff

12:36 CAT | 01 Feb 2018

O País

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Carlos Mesquita, and the vice president of the Mozambican Federation of Transport Associations (FEMATRO) said on Wednesday that the entry into force of the new tariffs for public passenger transport in city and province of Maputo, approved in the middle of last year was a matter of urgency.

Speaking at the reception ceremony of the second batch of the 380 90-seater buses that will reinforce the privately operated fleets in the municipalities of Maputo, Matola and Boane, the Fematro vice president reminded the Government that under the memorandum signed in In the middle of 2017 for the adaptation of the then cash subsidy, it was agreed that when these came into operation, the new 12 and 15 meticais tariff already agreed between the parties of would come into force, “in order to guarantee the financial sustainability of the operators, and also benefit other operators not benefiting from the project. But this is not happening”.

The representative of the private operators emphasised that the delay “worries us a lot, because we believe that this issue of price tariffs is vital for the success of the project”.

The sentiment was echoed by Minister Carlos Mesquita, who said that it was the understanding of the government “that for the sustainability and continuity of investment in the improvement, modernisation of the bus fleet, expansion of the number of routes and a greater supply of capacity and quality of service, the immediate review of the current tariff, considering all relevant factors, especially the accessibility of the public transport service to the low-income population” was necessary.

The minister did not however indicate any specific date for the entry into force of the new tariffs for the Mozambican capital, although it has already been even approved in the Maputo municipal assembly.

Source: A Verdade