Public Transportation

The rear view of a Congolese Cab

As a result of the general lack of infrastructure here there are no mailboxes or clearly marked cabs. Don't be fooled, however, Kinshasa has a massive, functioning transportation system in place. "Taxis" are usually the exact cars you would pick out as being un-driveable. They are often missing bumpers, head/rear lights, windows and/or doors. They inevitably ride low because they are packed full with people including those hanging onto the roof and sitting where windows used to be.

Kinshasa is a big, populous city (7 million) with a limited number of people able to afford a car so everyday people "hail" a cab by standing on the side of the road and making various hand signals to indicate to which part of town they would like to go. If a taxi driver that is going to that part of town sees them, and has room in the cab still he/she will pull over (often cutting off 4-5 unmarked lanes of traffic) and pick up the travelers.