Nadya Eka Lestari
TechInAfrica — Txapita Mobility has launched an app to make public transportation easier in Mozambique. It will allow users to track the location of their bus and the estimation time of arrival at the bus stop. The developer believes that the initiative will make the transport system more flexible and avoid shortening routes in the Grande Maputo region.
Urban mobility has been a chronic problem in Mozambique, especially in the Grande Maputo region. There are long lines of passengers waiting for a bus to drop off on time when on average, people would usually have to stay at the bus stop for nearly 30 minutes.
The company recognized this issue and came up with the idea to inform its users about the location of the bust and the arrival time at the bus stop. Txapita, an Android and IOS-based app, is a system installed in public transportation and users can access the information from their smartphones, as René Menezes, the creator of the app, explained.
Not only adding the value to the passenger, Txapita also has additional features such as helping users find public institutions, controlling traffic, sending travel feedback, reporting harassment and danger on the road or the transportation, evaluating bus quality, helping to identify the level of traffic jam in the Grande Maputo region, and many more.
The developer has ensured that it has already been installed on several busses operating in the following routes: Baixa-Boane; Primeiro de Maio- Museum; Magoanine-Baixa; Museum – Zimpeto and Matola-Baixa City.
However, the practice on the road is different and Txapita still has to face challenges in the operation. Most cars in the urban area do not have the system integrated into the app yet. This is why the president of Maputo Metropolitan Agency considered that it will be a challenge to make the app working optimally.
Moreover, he further suggested that passengers and transport operator contributes to the system to help improve transport management in the Grande Maputo region.
Source: opais.sapo.mz
