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Taxi drivers in Maputo City want an increase in fares of 50 meticais per kilometre, from the current 100 to 150 meticais. The class feels abandoned because taxi fares have not been updated for seven years, TAXIMA claims.
The more than 270 operators of the Maputo City Taxi Drivers Association (TAXIMA) have been waiting since 2015 for a satisfactory response from the Municipal Assembly on raising their tariff, which has remain unchanged despite increases in the cost of fuel and the cost of living generally.
Taxi drivers say they feel abandoned, having submitted proposals for more than seven years without any satisfactory answers.
“We are orphans. We pay fees to the [Maputo City] Municipal Council, but they never come to meet us to learn what is actually happening with our activity. We feel abandoned,” said Artur Xavier, who has worked as a taxi driver for over 20 years.
According to the taxi drivers, their situation has become increasingly complicated, because of operating costs.
A taxi driver since 2002, Inácio Macuácua told ‘O País’ that his monthly income is no longer enough to cover the costs of maintaining the vehicle and to feed his family.
“The situation is not good at all, it is getting difficult. I work, I have to support the family, to cover the car expenses, buy tires and pay for the complete maintenance of the vehicle. The business is no longer profitable, because I work, but I don’t see any profits,” complained Macuácua. “The price list should be revised and it has to be general, because, if everyone sets their own price, clients end up getting confused, and that makes the job even more complicated,” he added.
The situation is made even worse by the successive rises in fuel prices, explains Daniel Firmino, who has been a taxi driver for over 10 years.
“When fuel prices go up, taxi prices stay the same. We have been working with the same prices for more than five or ten years. So it is impossible to make a profit. I can’t even pay for my car’s maintenance,” Firmino explained.
The tariff currently in force stipulates 100 meticais per kilometre, which TAXIMA says is not enough to cover operating expenses. The association therefore suggests an increase of 50 meticais per kilometre.
“We are still in talks with the Municipal Council to approve a new tariff, as we need to unify prices, so that all taxi operators can implement it,” TAXIMA president Luís Rafael commented.
Rafael also claims that the current price list has contributed to an increase in unfair competition.
“It’s difficult, because, in addition to app taxis, there are illegal taxis, which proliferate throughout the city. The City Council is very well aware of the location of these taxis, but simply does nothing. Each one charges its own prices, to the detriment of licensed taxi drivers,” he concluded.
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