Two weeks already since the municipality of Kinshasa introduced new cabs in the city. Not only are they brand new and air-conditioned, but these new cabs are in the colors of the Congolese flag and have an identification number, and the cab drivers are dressed in shirt and tie.
There is now eighteen of them altogether, but in total two hundred similar cabs will be introduced in the next few days or weeks. I approached one of the cab drivers who accepted to tell me how these new toys are operating. He even accepted to strike a proud pose in front of his work tool.
How much does the fare cost?
Fifteen US dollars per hour. Some of them are at the Ndjili airport, at the Beach Ngobila and outside the big hotels of Kinshasa. Municipal employees are posted at each one of these locations to cash the money and issue receipts.
How much are the cab drivers paid?
“We have been working for less than a month, we’ll see how much we are paid at the end of the month“, the driver told me when I asked him about his pay. Obviously… no work contract…
I’m much delighted by the fact that there are new cabs in the town of Kinshasa, but I find that given the cost, they are not meant at all for low-paid Kinois.
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One Comment
We are quite delighted with your hard but frank news coming from the DR.Congo through you. This is a good piece of investigative journalism and we must commend you for it.
We are bringing something new to Kinshasa to re address the poor state of buses in the town. Therefore watch out for a new transport oufit called BLACKGATE COOP and try and log on thier site under construction called blackgatecoop.com
This outfit was made possible with the collaboration and assistance of the Kimbaguist church in Kamba.