The Transport Dilemma

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The Transport Dilemma

Soaring urban transit fares across Yaounde are turning the final back-to-school countdown into a severe financial strain for several parents.

26 Aug 2026 14:14

A s families make their final preparations ahead of school reope ning, transportation costs consume a record share of household budgets. Over the past five years, taxi and motorcycle fares have risen sharply, driven by consecutive increases in pump fuel prices. “Five years ago, you could dis burse around FCFA 630 for a litre of Super and FCFA 575 for a litre of Diesel fuel but now these fuels in the same quantities cost FCFA 840 for super and FCFA 828 for Diesel,” explains Joel Chendjou, a gas station attendant in Yaoun de. Routes that used to cost FCFA 250 to FCFA 300 half a decade ago now demand at least FCFA 400 to FCFA 500 each way. For households sending multiple children to schools across Yaounde, adjusting to the rising cost of living, during the next school year means combining transit modes and reducing total reliance on hired transport altogether. John Asonkeng, a father of four explains “My wife and I cannot afford taxis or bikes every single day anymore. My older children will now walk a considerable distance every morning before taking a short drop. It takes extra effort, but it keeps our monthly spending within reasonable bounds.” Aside hired transport fares, school bus transport, long va lued by several families with kids in private schools for safety and convenience, has seen sharp fare hikes that are pricing out many working-class households. “At our school, the annual bus fee has jum ped from FCFA 90,000 to FCFA 120,000 per child this year. This is because of the increase in fuel prices and the added fa cilities we have integrated in the school bus. Maintaining it will be costly. So, parents have to bear part of the cost,” shares Jessica B, headmistress in a Yaounde based private primary and secondary school. Some parents ...