Maputo, 19 Jun (AIM) – The Mozambican Minister of Transport and Logistics, Joao Matlombe, on Wednesday launched a pilot project for the modal integration of public transport in the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area.
The Metropolitan Area covers Maputo, the adjacent city of Matola and the neighbouring districts of Boane and Marracuene.
The project is a public passenger transport service that integrates buses and rail cars from the country’s publicly owned Ports and Rail Company, CFM, linking the cities of Matola and Maputo.
According to Matlombe, speaking during the project launch, the pilot phase will last for 60 days, involving 15 buses, each with the capacity for 90 passengers.
“This is for passengers embarking or disembarking at the Matola Gare, Daniel and Machava railway stations, on the Ressano Garcia railway line (which runs from Maputo to South Africa). The government plans to import 360 buses throughout the country by the end of the year, some for the cities and others for rural areas”, he said.
The minister explained that at Matola Gare station, buses will pick up passengers during rush hour to and from the neighborhoods of Tchumene, Matlemele and Matibwana. At Daniel Station, the neighborhoods covered are Malhampsene, Tsalala and Nkobe, while at Machava Station, the buses will serve residents of the Socimol, Bedene and Patrice Lumumba neighborhoods.
“At Maputo City Central Station, there will be buses to and from the Praça dos Combatentes and Museu terminals”, he said.
Matlombe believes that the project is much more than articulation between buses, trains and minibus taxis. “It is a single, coordinated and citizen-oriented system, with integrated timetables, unified ticketing, accessible infrastructures and modern management mechanisms”, he stressed.
“This pilot project also represents a technical exercise in the functional, regulatory and institutional reorganization of the capital’s urban transport system, based on fundamental axes, namely physical, operational and fare integration, road safety, energy transition and emissions reduction, with work being carried out by specialized teams for each defined axis”, Matlombe said.
“This pilot project is the result of joint work between public institutions, private operators, international cooperation partners and, above all, attentive listening to the communities that face daily challenges in their commute”, he added.
He said that the success of this pilot phase will be the basis for the gradual expansion of modal integration throughout the Maputo metropolitan area “and, in the future, to other cities across the country.”
(AIM)
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