Katembe residents petition for lower bridge tolls

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Katembe residents petition for lower bridge tolls

7:11 CAT | 21 Nov 2018

Photo: Twitter

Some residents of the outlying Maputo municipal district of Katembe have submitted a petition to Maputo-Sul, the public company that operates the bridge between central Maputo and Katembe, calling for a reduction in the tolls charged for crossing the bridge.

According to a report in the independent daily “O Pais”, about 1,000 Katembe residents have signed this petition, claiming that the tolls are “unsustainable”, even with the discounts offered for frequent users of the bridge.

The signatories claim that their petition represents “the clamour of despair and anxiety of all citizens of the district”. The tolls are “prohibitive for pockets already suffocated by the high cost of living”.

ALSO READ: Mozambique bridge tolls quietly go up 25 to 400 percent

Before the bridge was inaugurated, on 10 November, the only way to cross the Bay of Maputo was by ferry. The ferry charged 250 meticais on weekdays and 300 meticais at weekends to take a light vehicle from Maputo to Katembe or vice versa. But the toll on the bridge for a light vehicle is just 160 meticais.

In other words it is much cheaper to use the bridge than take the ferry – motorists in Katembe have obviously done this calculation, since almost the only people using the ferry nowadays are pedestrians and cyclists.

Light vehicles that cross the bridge between 11 and 20 times a month enjoy a discount of seven per cent, and so pay a toll of 148 meticais. The reduction goes up to 13 per cent for between 21 and 30 crossings a month – which is a toll of 139 meticais.

When a vehicle makes 31 to 40 journeys across the bridge in a month, the discount is 20 per cent. The discount goes up to 33 per cent, for anyone crossing the bridge between 41 and 50 times a month, and the maximum discount is 46 per cent, for any vehicle crossing the bridge for than 50 times in a single month – which is a toll of 86 meticais.

There is a higher discount, of 75 per cent, but it is only available for passenger transport and for tractors.

ALSO READ: Ferry services over Maputo bay sharply reduced

Source: AIM