In some of the busiest African cities, a monthly bus pass or taxi fare can be a major expense, eating up nearly 20 percent of income. By comparison, a monthly bus pass costs around $100 in Los Angeles, where the median income for the most congested parts of the city is $50,000-to-$70,000 per year — barely causing a dent in the funds of a low-to-middle-income residents. Here are 8 of the most expensive African cities for public transportation.
In Luanda, Angola, residents pay around $8 a day on bus fare. Teachers makes around $400 a month, and government employees make around $2,000 a month. If a teacher takes the bus every weekday, she might spend as much as 20 percent of salary on transportation. Even well-off government employees spend a significant portion of income on getting to work.
Libreville lacks organized and scheduled public transportation, and residents rely mostly on taxis if they do not have a car, and do not ride bicycles or motorbikes. A monthly bus pass costs around $16. With the average disposable income in the city at around $630, this is a substantial expense for many residents.
In Addis Ababa, a monthly bus pass costs between $10 and $25. With the average monthly disposable income at $226, that means some commuters spend nearly 10 percent of their disposable income on transportation.
A monthly public transit pass in Kinshasha costs between $100 and $150, which is expensive even by U.S. standards. A student in Los Angeles can get a monthly bus pass for $20, and working adults pay $100.
A monthly bus pass in Victoria, Seychelles can range from around $20 to $40. A single taxi trip on a business day can cost nearly $20 for trips that are only 5 miles long.
A monthly bus pass in Nigeria costs just shy of $40 and a single five-mile taxi trip costs around $9. Taking the bus into Lagos is noticeably more expensive than taking the bus out of the city. Tickets leaving Lagos can range between $13 to $26, but tickets into Lagos range between $17 and $45.
Bamako, Mali is the home to several foreign firms which has cultivated a demand for Western-standard accommodations. This has driven the cost of living in the city remarkably high. A monthly bus pass in the city is around $31. However, the average monthly disposable income for Bamako residents is only $114, so that bus pass takes up nearly 20 percent of that.
A monthly bus pass in Abuja can range from $40 to $100, and the average disposable income for residents is around $500, making the bus pass up to 20 percent of disposable income. Main roads are extremely congested and can be slow to travel, as well as unsafe.