This African city thought cable cars could fix its traffic gridlock. It was wrong

The idea was unique for sub-Saharan Africa: use cable cars to lift thousands of commuters above the daily gridlock in one of Africa's fast-growing cities. But the system ran for only a few weeks, and now the car-less cables hang unused above Madagascar's capital in what might be a $170 million mistake by one of the world's poorest countries. The cable car system in Antananarivo was promoted and inaugurated by former President Andry Rajoelina before he was deposed in a military coup late last year following youth-led protests alleging widespread government failures. He reasoned it was the best way to end the reliance on aging, overcrowded minibus taxis that create traffic jams stretching for hours, an annoyance for many in the island nation off East Africa. Light rail wouldn't work because of the area's marshlands, he said. Rajoelina called the system's opening last year a landmark moment, like France building the Eiffel Tower. Officials said the cable cars could carry up to 75,000 people a day, take 2,000 vehicles off the roads and cut commutes from up to three hours to about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the route. At the unveiling, Rajoelina and his prime minister rode above Antananarivo's steep hills and tightly packed neighborhoods. But few ordinary Madagascans followed. The unusual transit system, built over three years for around $173 million with loans from France, has run into a common problem for Africa and its more than 1.5 billion people: affordability. Officials set the fee for users at between 70 and 90 U.S. cents a trip—six to eight times the price to ride in a minibus. Many people have been unwilling to pay that in a country where the average monthly salary for a commuter is around $72, according to a 2022 report by the World Bank. Pieter Onderwater, a public transport planning consultant and guest lecturer at the Center for Transport Studies at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said Madagascar's government and the cable car system's French developers may have missed how money is more important than convenience for most people on a poor continent. This article was provided by The Associated Press.