Reporting
Madagascar: popular during the Easter weekend, bush taxis face degraded roads
In Madagascar, bush taxis invade the national roads for the Easter weekend. The majority of travelers have already taken the road, but this Sunday, March 31, a minimum service is provided to allow latecomers to connect the regions and spend Easter with family. On the island, where these minibuses are the only affordable means of public transport, the period represents a peak of activity for bush taxi companies. And above all a real logistical challenge in the face of increasingly degraded roads.
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Cars stop in front of a flooded road in Vohiparara, Madagascar. Over the course of the damage left by successive climatic hazards, drivers see the roads visibly deteriorating. Illustrative image taken from a drone. REUTERS - CHRISTOPHE VAN DER PERRE
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With our correspondent in Madagascar,
Pauline Le Troquier
The bush taxi engines rumble while the workers are busy loading luggage. Imminent departure for Mélodie. The 25-year-old young woman, her child on her arm, must travel from Majunga to the north of the
country
, where she is preparing to spend Easter with her family. A journey of more than 500 kilometers awaits him: “
It’s a little scary because we’re traveling with children. But when you have to, you have to. It seems that it will be twelve hours
[of journey],
but we don't know
. »
Fourteen hours
In recent months, it has taken - in reality - fourteen hours to reach Majunga. As the damage left by successive climatic hazards progresses, drivers see the roads visibly deteriorate and journeys become even longer. A situation which requires more precautions, explains Andrianina Tombotsoa, operations director of the bush taxi company Soatrans Plus: “
We have put two drivers per car to avoid accidents. We also put in place a discipline according to which all cars cannot install second-hand tires but only new tires. This is essential. Risks present themselves everywhere. And if you use second-hand tires, they can puncture at any time!
»
“
We are stressed
”
An additional pressure which weighs directly on the working conditions of the drivers, testifies Safidy, one of them, his hands screwed on the steering wheel: “
We are stressed. There are angry customers because of the long journeys. They tell us they are tired and ask us to go faster.
»
The “ball” of the comings and goings of bush taxis continues in this station in the center of the capital. The journeys promise to be difficult but have not dissuaded the Malagasy people from hitting the road for Easter. Almost as important as Christmas, this Christian holiday is widely celebrated on the Big Island.
Read alsoMadagascar: at least a dozen dead in the wake of Cyclone Gamane
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