Maputo. Taxi drivers say apps killed business

Aníbal Fernando has been a taxi driver for 30 years, based at the Hotel Avenida in Maputo, but he admits that his livelihood has ended with low prices following the arrival of app-based operators, making it time to hold a "funeral" for the activity.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to organize a decent funeral and put this taxi issue to rest. Generally speaking, right now, all businesses are struggling. But for us, it's app-based taxis that are putting us in this situation," the taxi driver told Lusa, on the streets of the Mozambican capital, while waiting for one of his few daily customers.

Aníbal Fernando says that mobile app-based transportation, which has become widespread in Maputo in recent years, with prices he says are unprofitable, has ended the golden age of conventional taxis, which once had more than 15 cars in the same plaza, compared to the current two.

The drop in business is confirmed by the Maputo City Taxi Drivers Association (Ataxima), which sees taxi ranks and vehicles disappearing from the city's streets.

“Before the apps, we had around 125 taxi ranks and approximately 2,000 taxi vehicles within the city of Maputo (…), it was an activity that was generating income, it was an organized activity,” Ataxima spokesperson Lucílio Banze explained to Lusa.

The result is that today there are “not even 500 taxi vehicles” in the Mozambican capital .

"Of the 125 police stations we had, in the last assessment we did last month, there were about 60 in operation. This means we've lost more than half of the stations (...), about 65 stations have been closed. They have no vehicles," he says.

The technology, he says, is "welcome," but "it is very poorly structured, disorganized, and lacks guidance," he criticized, pointing out that conventional taxis are identified with yellow and green colors, unlike apps, which use any personal vehicle.

"We have such a severe fare dispersion. It's similar to chapa [public transportation], which costs 15 meticais [20 euro cents] over a distance of 10 kilometers. It's uniform. You go to Matola, you go to Marracuene, in the Maputo metropolitan area. But with taxis, this never happens. Everyone sets their own price," the spokesperson says.

Ataxima guarantees that it is working on reviewing the municipal regulation, which does not accommodate app-based taxis , motorcycle taxis or paid rides. Another solution, including driver training, is to improve service.

Even so, mobile app-based transportation attracts thousands of drivers across the cities of Maputo and Beira (in the center of the country) due to the reduced costs.

"We have taxes, we have insurance, which is taxi insurance, and drivers must have professionals and public services. App-based taxis don't have this. So we have to have taxi insurance, customer insurance, and finances, and we have to pay the license," reinforced Marta Mussane, a taxi driver in Maputo since 2008.

For Mussane, safety is one of the advantages of conventional taxis, like his : whenever a customer forgets something, it can be easily located.

This preference is also supported by Sara Khan, a conventional taxi passenger, due to a recommendation from a friend, and because she feels it is a safe means of transportation.

"These days, I'm not even looking down on it, because I've used Yango [the most popular app-based taxi in Maputo] too, and it's actually a bit cheaper. But sometimes we don't know the people, do we? We call through the app and end up meeting people who probably aren't completely trustworthy, which can happen," he points out.

Between their stance, prices and operating methods, Mozambican taxi drivers are demanding equal treatment regarding tax obligations.

"Those leading this process need to reconsider this so that we're all, as I would say, on the same page. Because it's unfair; one party benefits and the other isn't taken into account," concludes Arlindo Lopes, another taxi driver from Maputo, noting that just to work he needs a license that costs 2,000 meticais (27 euros), while "apps" pay nothing.