Taxi and taxi-bus drivers in the city of Kinshasa have, for several weeks, unilaterally doubled the price of fares for various journeys.
Speaking this Monday, May 13 to Radio Okapi, these drivers demand up to 2,000 Congolese francs or more for a trip that cost 1,000 Congolese francs.
Kinshasa residents, however, denounced the so-called ‘half-court’ practice, particularly during rush hours.
This consists of dividing a journey into two or three stages, to charge more than usual for a single journey.
For most Kinshasa residents, drivers set this price in an anarchic manner without the provincial government reacting.
“… You leave the Kintambo Magasin roundabout at 4:00 p.m. to arrive at the UPN, you are charged 5,000 Congolese francs… based on what? it’s because the State didn’t do its job,” complained a customer while getting out of a taxi-bus.
Public transport drivers say they use half-road driving to compensate for the loss of time and loss of earnings when there are traffic jams.
One of the leaders of the Association of Drivers of Congo (ACCO), Jean Mutombo, recalls that transport prices are regulated by the tariff decree of the city province of Kinshasa.
According to him, drivers do not have the authority to set the price of transport of their own free will.
Jean Mutombo also warns the Provincial Transport Division which is responsible for discouraging all forms of illicit pricing.
The provincial ministry of transport in Kinshasa explains for its part that the fare commission can only increase the price of the journey if the increase in fuel reaches the threshold of 10%.
