Mozambique: Transport fares in Greater Maputo to rise by five meticais from November

The Mozambican government and transport operators have agreed to a five-metical (€0.07) increase in fares for semi-collective passenger transport in the Maputo metropolitan area, effective from 7 November, it was announced yesterday.

“An understanding has been reached on a five-metical adjustment to the fares currently in force, effective from 7 November 2026,” the Mozambican Road Transport Federation (FEMATRO) said in a statement, referring to the Greater Maputo area.

According to the organisation, the decision follows several rounds of negotiations between transport operators and the Mozambican government.

FEMATRO said details of the fare adjustment would be presented on Friday by the organisation’s president.

A federation source told Lusa that the measure applies only to Greater Maputo, where the current minimum fare is 15 meticais (€0.21) per route.

According to the same source, the new fares for each route will be announced by passenger transport associations.

The adjustment comes several months after fuel prices increased, at a time when transport operators had been calling for a fare review to offset rising operating costs.

On 7 May, the price of diesel rose by 45.5% and petrol by 12.1%, with the government citing developments in international markets and supply difficulties linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

At the time, the government introduced a temporary subsidy mechanism for transport operators to prevent an immediate increase in public transport fares.

However, government spokesman Inocêncio Impissa recently acknowledged that the government could not continue indefinitely to subsidise operators to offset the impact of fuel costs.

According to the official, the financial support was provided between June and August this year, during which the government had expected conditions in international energy markets to improve.

While acknowledging that private operators could adjust fares, Inocêncio Impissa said at the time that any price changes should be assessed by the competent authorities.

The spokesman also assured that the government would continue to seek mechanisms to minimise the impact of public transport costs on passengers.