Mozambique: Only 205 of the more than 1,600 Maputo ‘chapas’ have a licence to operate

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Mozambique: Only 205 of the more than 1,600 Maputo ‘chapas’ have a licence to operate

12:56 CAT | 31 Jul 2024

File photo: O País

More than 80% of semi-public passenger transport vehicles [“chapas”] in Maputo city do not have a licence to operate. In total, 1,632 vehicles circulate on the streets of the country’s capital, of which only 205 are legally authorised.

There are difficulties in accessing public transport in the city, and the so-called “chapas” continue to select who they transport, shorten routes at will and disrespect passengers.

The Municipality of Maputo does not appear to have full control over the existing operators, with figures released by the city council this Tuesday revealing that only 205 of a total of 1,632 transport vehicles have licences to operate.

“To date, we have 1,427 vehicles that are not licensed. Of course, this is a figure that we have from the records of surveys that we have carried out, but there is probably a higher number than this, and we will be able to confirm this when we carry out inspections, but from the records that we have now, in total, there are 1,632 operators, of which 1,427 are not licensed,” municipal Director of Mobility, Transport and Traffic Nelson Massango explains.

But the city council says it wants change and, once again, an awareness campaign is underway for the mass licensing of passenger transport.

“Mass licensing includes a reduction of requirements. We have a list for issuing licenses, but for this period, we have reduced it to just four, namely, a copy of the registration document, property title, car insurance and a copy of the vehicle owner’s identity card,” said Massango.

The city council is also urging offenders to comply with capacity limits, under penalty of being penalised.

“There is a sanction that can be applied to operators, but during this awareness period, we are instructing all operators to set the capacity of each vehicle. A 15-seater vehicle is for 15 passengers. It is mandatory for everyone to display stickers with this information. Capacity limits are not only for semi-collective buses; conventional buses also have limits. We have buses with 70 seats or more, but it is important to specify how many people should be seated and how many [can stand],” Massango detailed.

Maputo Municipality says it intends this new approach to impart good practices, but warns that it will spare no effort when it comes to imposing sanctions.

Source: O País