While negotiating “the best chapa fare that citizens’ pockets can afford”: 300 more buses for Maputo

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While negotiating “the best chapa fare that citizens’ pockets can afford”: 300 more buses for Maputo

7:47 CAT | 12 Apr 2017

Notícias

The Maputo City government announced on Wednesday that it will acquire, by September, a further 300 buses for public passenger transport.

Speaking at a press conference, the city transport director, Levy Marrengula, said the buses will be acquired under a public-private partnership. But he did not reveal who the private partner is, or how much the buses will cost.

The fleet of new buses, he added, will be placed on routes from the central part of Maputo to the outlying neighbourhood of Albasine, and from Maputo to the neighbouring city of Matola. Maintenance of the vehicles is guaranteed.

Currently, there are only 75 publicly owned buses in Maputo. But a further 80, donated by China last year, are expected to arrive in June. Thus by September there should be a total of 455 buses for passenger transport in the city.

Marrengula admitted that even this significant increase will not be enough to solve Maputo’s transport problems, but it would at least “minimise” them.

Chapas price hike under debate

Marrengula also revealed that the government is in discussions with the associations of private transport operators in order to fix new fares for the privately owned minibuses (colloquially known as “chapas”) which still provide much of Maputo’s passenger transport.

The current flat rate fares are seven meticais (about 11 US cents) for short distances, and nine meticais for long distances. These low fares are only possible because the government subsidises the diesel used by the “chapas”. The arrangement is that the chapa owners only pay 31 meticais for a litre of diesel – although the price at the pumps is 51.89 meticais per litre. The government pays the difference.

But the transport operators insist the government subsidy is insufficient, since it only covers fuel costs, and none of their other overheads (such as wages, tyres and other spare parts, lubricants and maintenance).

Marrengula could give no firm date, but promised that “shortly” new chapa fares will be announced. “We must find the best fare that citizens’ pockets can afford”, he said. “So we are negotiating with the transport associations”.

Marrengula also stressed the importance of rail transport in the city. Last year 35 carriages were added for the Maputo passenger trains, which now transport around 9,000 people every day.

Source: AIM