Maputo: Passenger carriers propose increase of 2 to 3 meticais over high fuel costs – Domingo

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Maputo: Passenger carriers propose increase of 2 to 3 meticais over high fuel costs – Domingo

1:48 CAT | 13 Jun 2022

File photo: Domingo

Operators of public and private passenger transport in Maputo are asking for a tariff readjustment of at least two meticais for distances of up to 10 kilometres, and three meticais for longer journeys.

In a public consultation meeting on the implications of the rise in the prices of liquid fuels held in Maputo City Council Hall on Saturday, carriers said that the current tariff was generating substantial losses for operators.

At the moment, the tariff charged is 12 and 15 meticais, which, according to the operators, is far from covering operating costs, especially with regard to fuel and lubricants.

In this context, president of the Association of Road Transporters of the City of Maputo, Baptista Mucavele, said that semi-collective passenger transporters actually wanted an increase from the current 12 to 20 meticais, but, as they understood that this would be a huge burden for passengers, would agree to a two and three meticais rise.

Citizens however see no reason for any increase in the ‘chapa’ tariff, there already having been one in the first quarter of this year.

Another argument presented against the increases concerns the ongoing shortening of routes practised by some carriers, causing passengers to spend more money on their trips.

Citizens advocate that the government should, as a way of addressing the situation, revert to the transport subsidy mechanisms.

For his part, José Rehemtula Nicols, Municipal Councillor for Mobility, Transport and Traffic in the city of Maputo, acknowledged the fairness of the operators’ demands, taking into account the rise in fuel prices.

This is not the first time that public passenger transport operators have proposed an upward revision of fares, there having been successive meetings between the Mozambican Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO) and the municipalities.

In fact, it was in this context that carriers operating in the city of Nampula recently decided to suspend service in pursuit of a tariff increase.

Source: Domingo