Urban Transport: Yaounde As Niche For Investors

The nation’s capital city is suffering from acute problems of transportation.

Yaounde, the capital city of the Republic of Cameroon is an agglomeration of 304 square km, of which 183 km is urbanized space. With about 2.8 million inhabitants as at 2015 and an average population growth of 6.8 per cent annually, the second most populated city in Cameroon suffers from inadequate public transportation since the collapse of Société des Transports urbains du Cameroun, SOTUC in 1995.  

 “TIC LE BUS,” famously known as Le Bus, which was created in 2006 as fruit of cooperation between Cameroonian and American promoters, TAUG C, was unable to satisfy growing demand in spite of support from government and the Yaounde City Council. The company has been facing financial difficulties, pushing the Yaounde City Council to create a semi-public company, Le Bus Co SA on August 28, 2015, to manage the urban mass transit bus service in the city. Transnational Industries Cameroon offered succinct urban transport means to Yaounde inhabitants at affordable prices of FCFA 150 for over 13 destinations. The company is on the brink of collapse, with not more than five destinations still covered by the buses that are in dilapidated shape.

Investing in the sector is therefore a niche, coming at a time the country is bracing up to host the November 2016 Female Africa Cup of Nations and the 2019 male African Cup of Nations. The Minister o...