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Opinions of Samedi, 25 Avril 2015

Auteur: Xinhua

Happiness and bitterness of a taxi driver in Cameroon

Keumoe has been working as a taxi driver in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde for 15 years.

The work is very hard for Keumoe, but he feels happy because the income from driving taxi can not only meet the basic needs of his family, but also can give his five children school education. He works 13 hours a day from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Keumoe told Xinhua recently that he likes the work because of the freedom he enjoys from driving taxi. Keumoe has gathered many experiences in this business, and thus knows when and where he can find more customers, to make better sales in the day.

There are many cars on the streets of Yaounde, among the cars almost half are taxis.

Bernard who lives in Yaounde said every day he takes taxi to office. "There are bus stops, but one could wait several hours for a bus, so I prefer taking a taxi," he said.

In Yaounde, customers can share a taxi, the first customer decides the direction, and if other customers go to the same direction, they can take it if there are vacant seats.

If the customers share a taxi, one customer will pay 250 CFA francs if the distance is not too far. If one wants to take taxi alone, he will pay 2,000 francs within around 10 km and 2,500 francs for one hour.

There are many taxi companies in Yaounde. Keumoe rented a taxi from one company, and pays 12,000 CFA francs per day for the owner.

Many people blame taxis for traffic jam in Yaounde. Keumoe said more cars, less roads are the main reason for the traffic jam, but he realized that some taxi drivers haven’t received formal training, so they don’t respect the traffic rule.

Keumoe’s wish is to buy a taxi in the future, he said he is working hard towards the realization of this dream.