In the past five years, the city of Maputo has witnessed the rise of alternative public transport options, such as paid rides, which have come to the aid of everyone from executives to pregnant women in the Mozambican capital.
Stationed at various points around Maputo, the paid rides emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions — and they’ve stayed ever since.
“This initiative makes a huge difference, since we’ve had episodes here where we even helped pregnant women (…) we’ve taken people to the hospital when no other transport was available. We’ve even taken executives — I can’t name them — who were late, and we got them to work in no time,” driver Eugénio Mathe told Lusa.
Mathe has been working in this spot for five years, alongside around 50 colleagues. He drives a Toyota Sienta, a seven-seater minivan that allows him to carry more passengers at once.
Now 41, Mathe turned to paid rides after becoming unemployed, as a way to support his wife and daughter. He transports people between Praça dos Combatentes and Praça do Destacamento Feminino — a little over four kilometers — charging 15 meticais (€0.20).
This is the lowest price in the area, as Mathe and his fellow drivers prioritize students from Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), the country’s oldest public university. Elsewhere, rides cost around 20 meticais (€0.27).
As the business continues to grow, a drivers’ association is in the works. However, relations with the city authorities have been tense — mainly because of where they operate: along Julius Nyerere Avenue, near the Mozambican Presidency.
“They’ve always been after us, claiming this is a protocol route (…) but we’re not making any noise: we just park the cars, people come, get in,” he said, adding that their goal is to legalize the activity.
While they wait, paid ride drivers had their cars clamped and towed last Tuesday by municipal police, who — according to the drivers — banned parking along Julius Nyerere Avenue and prohibited their work there.
In protest, the drivers refused to remove their vehicles. Police reinforcements were brought in, and tear gas was fired to disperse them.
Dércio Uamusse, 34, also works in the same area as Mathe. He lost his job during the pandemic.
Although Maputo continues to struggle with a chronic lack of public transport, app-based taxis and even motorbike taxis have appeared in recent years. Still, Uamusse says he feels good about the work he’s doing.
“I wouldn’t say we earn more than others doing different jobs. But let’s say it’s a way of life. So I feel good here,” he said, noting that hotel workers in the area also benefit from their transport.
Uamusse dreams of seeing the activity licensed, although vehicle maintenance remains a major obstacle.
“Maintenance (…) is our Achilles’ heel. These cars weren’t built for this type of work. But we’ve managed. And yes, the cars are in good condition,” he reported.
Among those who benefit from paid rides is Adélia Tinga, a final-year student of Territorial Planning at Pedagogical University (UP), located on Avenida de Moçambique. For her, this mode of transport helps bypass the lack of public options.
“These public rides help us a lot. There are no chapas (minibuses) on this route, and it’s very fast too,” said Adélia just before boarding another ride to her university.
A daily user of these rides, Adélia recognizes their efficiency and criticizes the municipal police’s decision to remove them. She calls for innovative ideas to address the city’s transport shortage.
Like Adélia, 25-year-old Marnélio Machaieie uses the paid rides daily to get to work.
A cook, Marnélio says this is the solution that ensures he’s never late to his job at a restaurant on Julius Nyerere Avenue.
“I’m never late. There’s always a ride ready and waiting,” Machaieie told Lusa, explaining that before paid rides, he had to take multiple forms of transport, which cost more and involved long walks.
“We had to take another route. I’d use the Compone [bus stop] and then walk from the corner to work,” he explained.
To him, removing this service in a city still struggling with transport would make life harder for those who rely on it for simple and convenient commuting.
The transport sector in Mozambique is among the most deficient in terms of public services, especially road transport.
The lack of options has led to the rise of privately owned open-back trucks, popularly known as “My Love” — due to the physical closeness of passengers riding in the cargo bed and the need to sometimes hug each other to avoid falling onto the road.
Source: Lusa
