Commonly called "Zemidjan" and identifiable by the dress of their drivers, motorcycle taxis are a means of transport allowing easy movement of people and goods. But the parking of these taxi-motorcycles in the cities of Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi leaves much to be desired.
Firmin KASSAGA
"The yellow jerseys" as they are called in Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi, moto-taximan are easily identifiable in the streets of these cities. The latter are requested for the transport not only of people but also of goods.. Very popular with the population, they are found in the nooks and crannies of cities, parked or in circulation. "The Zémidjan (taxi-motorcycles) help us a lot in our travels. They go where vehicles can't go ", says Honoré A., a user.
Apart from this proximity and this availability, motorcycle taxis, their anarchic parking hinders the movement of people and also other motorists. Sidewalks, secondary roads and even bypass roads are often occupied by the latter. Thus preventing the free movement of users who have no voice, are forced to make sinusoidal movements to get to the desired location. Others go so far as to take the roadway, thus endangering their lives.
Fiacre, motorcycle taxi driver recognizes the non-compliance in their behavior but tries to justify this by the lack of parking for their parking lots. "It is true that at certain times we occupy the sidewalks and sometimes we even park on the roadways. But we must also understand that on major crossroads, we do not have parking lots and therefore everyone is looking for a small space to park in order to find customers. This approach puts the life of pedestrians in danger.. Ours also especially when we park where the vehicles will have to pass. I think that if we have specific parking places, all this will cease ”.
Dame Folly is a road user, she shares her findings : " It became a habit. They (motorcycle taxis) park where they want forcing us to take paths that are not suitable for getting around. Often their bad parking creates traffic jams. If we could provide them with public parking lots in places, the problem will surely be solved ". Memphis, a student at the University of Abomey-Calavi finds that : "It is the ignorance of the highway code that is at the origin of this mess that we see in the city. We have to make our Zémidjan brothers very aware of good behavior and this already involves the principles of parking.. They can not, for the research of their earnings, put their life and that of others in danger ”. He adds : « Je pense qu’il faut leur construire des parkings de stationnement tout au moins dans les zones de forte affluence par exemple devant le campus… C’est la solution idéale pour mettre fin à ce que nous observons et subissons ».