ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 320 - 15/03/1997

The Congo

Transport: Too expensive but indispensable

by Jean-Valère Ngoubangoyi, Congo, December 1996

THEME = TRANSPORT

INTRODUCTION

There's not much in the way of public transport in Brazzaville, so private transport is having a field day. But not everyone can afford the fares charged, so people are impatiently awaiting the arrival of the new municipal bus service

Since Brazzaville's town bus service (which had a monopoly of transport) went bankrupt, private enterprise has had its own way. Transport needs are provided by shared taxis called "cent-cent" with a seating capacity of anything from 6 to 12 seats, and by minibuses known as "foula-foula" with 20 to 36 seats.

Too expensive

Since the CFA franc was devalued in January 1994, the government decided to increase transport tariffs from 100 to 150 CFA francs for buses and shared taxis, and from 500 to 700 CFA francs for private hire taxis. Also, Mr/Mrs Average Citizen now receive lower salaries and they can't buy much with the money they do receive. They say: "To get to work, we've got to walk half the way and then take a bus for the second half. This keep our costs down". Anatole is a taxi driver. He says: "Most of us don't own the vehicles we drive, and at the end of the day we have to hand over the fares collected to our bosses. When we haven't got much to give them, they simply don't understand that there's real competition on the roads". If a driver wants to make any money, he's either got to raise his fares or improvise his routes as he goes along - which doesn't help the passengers. For example in the morning, a passenger may want to go from Mikalou to Bacongo, and may have to change buses three times. A minibus driver may make anything from 40,000-50,000 CFA francs each day. A taxi driver: 9,000-12,000 CFA francs. It looks like easy money but in fact, vehicle owners find it difficult to pay their drivers regularly. "I don't make enough money each day to pay my driver, pay for gasoline and repairs, and provide for my own upkeep", says Nkouban, a taxi owner. Private transport makes a positive contribution to people's daily lives, but the sector suffers from police harassment. Reasons given by the police, vary from: non-payment of taxes, to breaking the traffic laws. Necessary authorization to paint a taxi or bus in the official green-white colours, costs 100,000 CFA francs; a license to charge fares - 30,000 CFA francs; road-fund licence - 23,000 CFA francs; insurance - about 150,000 CFA francs. Then there's all the heavy "administrative costs" to pay for. Most vehicles shouldn't even be on the road, as they're far too old and poorly maintained. There's plenty of these, and owners use their police and government contacts "to get away with it". Anatole has just been stopped by the police. He confides: "When I'm stopped by a police officer, it's often because he needs money. He's no intention of dragging me off to the police station. 1,000-2,000 CFA francs is enough to escape being troubled again for a few days". Then there's the case of a driver in difficulties with the law. What happens? He knows someone "in the right place" who is prepared to deliver him a certificate, stating that the appropriate file relating to his case "has been lost" - which means that the driver will be left in peace for a while.

New bus service

Soon, the daily traveller will be able to travel in peace. Brazzaville's city council is going to put into service a new transport company called "The Transport and Development Company" (STD). The company already has a bus station, and is waiting to receive about one hundred buses to cater for the capital's needs. But, it's not the end of the private transport sector, and certainly not the end of the long-suffering passengers' problems.

END

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement