Kinshasa: Cable car, city train line or ring road – Kinshasa has big plans to reduce traffic chaos, but for now, travel to the region remains a daily headache for millions.
Viviane goes to Ukauka every morning at 5:00 to fight her way through the closed streets of the Congolese capital, where motorbikes, packed buses and taxis compete for space.
The city has 17 million people in 24 communities, but there is still no real public transport system and almost all passenger vehicles on the roads are privately owned.
“We struggle a lot to find a car, we often walk long distances,” a boy selling brushes and brooms in one of Kinshasa’s popular markets told AFP.
At one point, passengers were “strangled” by being crammed like sardines into one of the yellow minibuses – a form of transport known locally as the ‘Spirit of Death’ – the mother said.
You never know how much it will pay.
The lack of standard fares means you can pay anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000 Congolese francs, roughly $1.5 to $33.
“The government must be responsible by setting the price of each trip as before,” said Maitre Brice, who sells tickets.
It is not uncommon in many roads, including some main roads, in deep drains or stagnant water bodies.
A part of the road near the University of Kinshasa in the west of the city is still under water after the river burst its banks a few months ago.
Leon Kumba Hamba, a taxi driver who flies on the road every day, wonders why the authorities themselves do not dare to drive.
It is so bad that it now charges consumers between 3,000 and 5,000 Congolese francs to transfer from a back street to a higher education institution, instead of the usual 1,000 francs.
“We suffer a lot … it’s very annoying,” the 31-year-old screamed, drenching her shoes and socks in the water.
