Bujumbura : the problem of transport remains unsolvable

Bujumbura : the problem of transport remains unsolvable

Residents of different neighborhoods of the commercial capital Bujumbura are getting used to traveling on foot and for good reason, public transportation is becoming a headache. The situation is getting worse day by day at a time when petrol stations can go a whole week without serving fuel.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The Kirundi proverb that “Akabi karamenyerwa (or one can get used to misfortune)” finds its meaning more than ever in the Burundian society today. It has been 48 months that the small nation of East Africa has suffered from a fuel shortage that has paralyzed all sectors of the country’s life. The commercial city where all United Nations agencies and the central administration are concentrated, remains the most affected by this crisis without a solution.

“Before, when there were no buses in parking lots, we could take a shared taxi for five thousand francs, but now, you don’t get on if you don’t have ten thousand francs on you”, complains an inhabitant of northern Bujumbura. Normally, he pays less than 1500 Burundi francs by bus for the same trip. He is not the only one to lament in these times of crisis that never ceases to get worse.

Walking has become an alternative for city dwellers (SOS Médias Burundi)

Although petrol stations distribute diesel to a category of transport buses, people spend hours in queues hoping to find ways to get home, in vain.

Under a blazing afternoon sun, pupils in uniform who were once privileged no longer inspire pity among security guards who had made it their mission to reserve buses for them so that they could revise their lessons once they arrived home on time. Tired passengers are no longer ashamed to sit on the ground while waiting for buses under the helplessness of the policemen in charge of ensuring order in the bus-less parking lots.

“I will no longer waste my time waiting for the bus for more than three hours without even being sure of getting one. As soon as I leave the office, I take the road that leads me home without going through the city center because there will be no miracle solution,” says another person met along the way.

A boulevard in Bujumbura without vehicles due to the fuel shortage, June 10, 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)

City dwellers are in distress. There are no more school buses, which is causing a big problem for pupils’ transportation.

Families with more than one vehicle decide to combine tours to reduce travel, if they are lucky enough to fill their vehicle’s tank.

Many have changed their habits of going home for a short family break. They leave the house in the morning and return in the evening.

Fuel is impossible to find, even on the black market. A 20-liter can of gasoline that used to cost between 250 and 300 thousand currently reaches 500 thousand francs and is not sold to just anyone and the streets of the commercial capital are almost deserted. The official price of a liter of gasoline is set at 4,000 francs.

No announcement from the authority, which itself seems to be overwhelmed by the situation.

“All hope is lost,” say most of the people we spoke to.

——

Hundreds of passengers including women wait for a bus for several hours, in vain, in the parking lot serving the north of the commercial city Bujumbura, July 9, 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)

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