The roadblocks during the post-election protests caused "a lot of damage" to transport companies, but as things return to normal, the road is once again the main source of income for hundreds of drivers, despite the "usual challenges".
Adolfo Tivane, 31, supports eight people with 10,000 meticais (136 euros) that he earns monthly driving a passenger transport van, locally known as a "chapa".
With his nieces' schooling and his family's food, this driver's life has always been "tight" for almost 10 years transporting passengers, but nothing has been more difficult than the uncertainties of the last few months, marked by strikes and protests almost all over the country.
"There are eight of us in my house, all under my responsibility: my mother, my sisters, my nieces, (...) With the little that I earn, I try to help my family, it's not even enough for me to save or try to make a living", Adolfo Tivane told Lusa.
The engine of his Toyota Hiace starts running at five in the morning, on one of the main routes in Maputo, connecting the center of the capital to the municipality of Matola, a distance of almost 15 kilometers.
Adolfo's route was one of the most affected by the unrest that has taken hold in Mozambique since October 2024, with roads blocked and clashes between authorities and protesters.
"We suffered a lot of losses, we were out of business for a long time. This harmed both us and our patron," explains Adolfo, adding that, despite the return to normality in recent weeks, he has not yet managed to recover from the losses.
Most drivers of "chapas", the main means of transport in urban areas in Mozambique, work through an agreement with the car owner, with a stipulated daily target.
The minimum price for passengers in these vans is 15 meticais (0.20 euro cents), and it is imperative that transporters make as many rounds as possible.
At the height of the protests, taking to the road was dangerous on some days, which meant that transporters failed to meet the targets set by vehicle owners.
"When people demonstrated, they did not accept vehicles circulating on public roads. The taxi, logically, had to stop," Salvador Massango, 33, another transporter, explained to Lusa.
Since October 21, Mozambique has experienced a climate of strong social unrest, protests, demonstrations and strikes, called first by Venâncio Mondlane, a former presidential candidate who rejects the election results of October 9, with violent clashes between the police and protesters, as well as looting and destruction of public and private equipment.
The unrest that has affected the country in recent months has caused the death of around 390 people, according to non-governmental organizations that follow the electoral process, with the Mozambican government confirming at least 80 deaths, in addition to the destruction of 1,677 commercial establishments, 177 schools and 23 health units during the demonstrations.
However, on March 23, Mondlane and the Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, already in office, met for the first time and a commitment was made to end post-election violence in the country.
With the end of the unrest, at least in recent months, the "chapas" have returned frequently to the capital, but the challenges, already well known, continue, from the maintenance of the roads to the arm wrestling with the municipal authorities.
"What's bad is the municipal police, who don't know how to work. Even if the driver is in a legal situation, for them, you are never legal, (...) They create tricks to get you to take money, that's what we don't want", Joaquim Muiambo, 38 years old, another transporter on a route that connects Maputo and Matola, told Lusa.
Although they are one of the main players in urban mobility in Mozambique, the "chapas" are unable to fully satisfy people's needs, even with the existence of public buses, which keeps a "chronic" problem alive in the country, with the main stops always crowded and buses almost full.
Lacerda Felisberto, 21 years old, a student in the city of Maputo, tells Lusa that to catch transport to school, she sometimes has to "fight" with other passengers.
"In the morning, it has been a problem and, in the afternoon, towards the end of the day, getting transport here is a war", says Felisberto, remembering that, sometimes, the collectors in the vans only carry those who do not reach the vehicle's final destination.
"It's a very regrettable situation in our country, we have a serious lack of transport. In our day-to-day lives, it hasn't been easy, we've had difficulties, especially at the terminals, so we have to fight to have transport," Paulo Muache, 34, another passenger, told Lusa.
The transport sector in Mozambique is one of the most deficient in terms of public services, especially transport.
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