Roads In Madagascar

Madagascar's network of about 4500 roads spans approximately and is focused on facilitating transportation to and from Antananarivo. Transportation on these roads, most of which are unpaved and two lanes wide, is often dangerous. Long-distance travel is often accomplished in ('bush taxis'), which may be shared by 20 or more people.

While most primary roads are in good condition, the World Food Program has classified two-thirds of the roads as poor condition. These conditions may make it dangerous to drive at moderate-to-high speeds and (bandit) attacks pose a threat at low speeds. Many roads are impassable during Madagascar's wet season; some bridges (often narrow, one-lane structures) are vulnerable to being swept away. Few rural Malagasy live near to a road in good condition; poor road connectivity may pose challenges in health care, agriculture, and education.

Drivers in Madagascar travel on the right side of the road. On some roads, the government of Madagascar requires that drivers travel in convoys of at least ten vehicles in order to deter attacks from . Partial reporting of car collision fatalities and a World Health Organization approximation of a full number suggest that the rate of car collision fatalities is among the highest in the world. Random police checkpoints, at which travelers are required to produce identity documents, are spread throughout the country.

Crops are transported by ox cart locally and by truck inter-regionally. Human-powered vehicles, once the only means of road transport, are still found in the form of (rickshaws). Bush taxis, or , constitute a rudimentary road-based public transportation system in Madagascar. , rides on cost as little as 200 ariary (roughly US$0.10), and vehicles involved are often overpacked with people, sometimes with the assistant driver riding on the outside of the vehicle. Stops on their routes are generally not fixed, allowing passengers to exit at arbitrary points.

Roads

There were no roads in Madagascar as of the middle of the 19th century. In 1908, a road was built from Mahatsara to Antananarivo. By 1958, Madagascar's road network spanned about , almost all of it unpaved.

As of 2022, Madagascar contains over 4500 unique roads. Traffic drives on the right side of the road. The road network spans approximately , representing 5.4 kilometers of road per 100 square kilometers of land ( mi per 100 sq mi). This is a small road network, mostly oriented toward Antananarivo. Last-mile transport, particularly in rural areas, is sometimes accomplished via unofficial roads.

There are three classes of road systems in Madagascar: ('national roads'), ('provincial roads'), and ('communal roads'). connect Antananarivo to Antsiranana, Toamasina, Morondava, and Toliara and make up of the country's road network. Most roads of all three types have two lanes and are relatively narrow; many bridges have only one lane.

Road conditions

The World Food Programme and the Global Logistics Cluster have classified 64% of roads in Madagascar as in poor driving condition, 28% in average condition, and 10% in good condition (navigable throughout all seasons of the year). Seventy percent of the primary roads are in good condition. '' The Statesman's Yearbook 2023'' states that only about twenty-two percent of all roads in Madagascar were paved as of 2013, while a 2019 World Bank report states that eighty-one percent of roads were not paved. As natural gravel is not regularly available on the island of Madagascar, many roads are composed of sand lined with crushed stone. Many of these unsealed roads can only be used in the dry season. Roads in rural areas are often deficient in signage, while bridges are often swept away following rainstorms; during the wet season, road conditions degrade, particularly so in the country's North.

Connectivity challenges

Only 11.4% of rural Malagasy live within of a road in good condition, leaving 17 million without such access. Unsealed roads are the only way to access many parts of the country by road, including the key southern city of Fort-Dauphin. A 2018 World Bank report, conducted in partnership with the government of Madagascar, concluded that poor road connectivity was one of the major contributors for poor access to health care. The World Bank further linked poor connectivity to challenges in agriculture and education and identified climate change as having the potential to worsen the road connectivity situation.

Means of transport

Prior to the construction of the road from Mahatsara to Antanarivo, transportation across the inland highlands was accomplished by porters of the Hova caste (Merina Kingdom–era non-enslaved commoners). After the road was built in 1908, transportation continued to rely on the Hova for a time, for want of oxen or mules to pull the carriages. Some human-powered vehicles remain in use , in the form of (rickshaws).

Vehicle ownership in Madagascar has grown from under 30,000 to over 800,000 since 1955, during which time the island country's population has risen from about 5 million to over 28 million. In reports in 2018 and 2019, the World Bank predicted an increase in car ownership as Madagascar's economy improved. A 2022 World Bank paper published in ''Public Transport'' found that 6% of Antananarivo households surveyed owned private cars, that private car ownership correlated with high income, and that car owners were less likely to use minibuses.

Taxi brousses

Madagascar's ('bush taxis') are a type of share taxi which, , cost US$0.10 per passenger. They comprise a public transportation system that is relatively affordable in Madagascar's poverty. Most do not embark until all seats are full, although this is not universally true. While use fixed stops, passengers can also exit at any point along the route. National lines travel from their origin to their destination directly, disallowing improvised stops along the route. company fleets range in size from a single vehicle to over a hundred, and may serve one or more urban, regional, or national lines. A vehicle is staffed by a driver and assistant driver, or two drivers on a very long route. Other people are employed to attract customers and fasten luggage to the vehicle's roof.

According to a 2018 study in '' Media in Action'', most used on paved roads are minibuses, while most on unpaved roads are trucks with benches in the cargo area. They often are filled above capacity, sometimes close to double, with small children riding for free on their parents' laps. The researchers recount that the tight space can lead to conflict among passengers and requires people exiting to either jump out of a window or have everyone in front of them get out too. The assistant driver, who interacts with passengers and loads and unloads luggage, does not get a seat and either stands against the door or travels on the outside of the vehicle. Researchers observed that the drivers often appear to eat for free, as part of arrangements between the companies and restaurants they stop at. , companies must register with the government and pay 2.4 million Malagasy ariary in fees and taxes per vehicle. Import of vehicles is taxed at about ten times this amount.

Cargo transport

Interregional transport of crops relies on trucks. In Vakinankaratra, a network of subcollectors buy crops from farmers in their villages and then sell the crops to wholesale collectors, who either have their own trucks or work with truckers they know. Because of the cost of operating a truck, most truckers own more than one truck so as to take advantage of economies of scale. , most trucking in Vakinankaratra is conducted by ethnic Asians, who tend to be relatively well-off but, due to a history of ethnic tensions, are wary of assets that could easily be seized. A different class of transporters, the ('carters'), move crops to markets by ox cart.

Facing a water crisis in Southern Madagascar, in 1993 the national agency (AES) engaged with the government of Japan to acquire 24 tanker trucks for water in 1993. As of 2004, 10 remain officially in service, although researcher Richard R. Marcus was only able to verify the existence of 6. According to Marcus, AES blamed tire issues, while locals alleged corruption.

Safety

The maximum urban speed limit is 50 kilometers per hour (kph), or in some cases, 80 kph. There is no speed limit on highways or in rural areas. Wulf et al. in ''Media in Action'' reported the speed limit for trucks is 45 kph; may go up to 75 kph but in practice go around 40 kph. The blood alcohol content limit for drunk driving is 0.08 grams per deciliter. There is a seatbelt law but no child restraint law. Motorcyclists must wear helmets. Children are allowed as motorcycle passengers; children under five may not sit in the front seat of a car. Handheld phone use is illegal. While a 2018 WHO fact sheet said that hands-free use is legal, a 2019 sheet from the United States Bureau of Consular Affairs reported that hands-free use is illegal. Nighttime street lighting in the country is of limited availability.

The Intersectoral Committee for Road Safety and Ministry of Transport and Meteorology oversee road safety in Madagascar. While there are no official statistics on road safety in Madagascar, it reported 340 people in 2016 who died within 24 hours of a car crash; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated a true total of 7,108 car crash fatalities, or 28.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. In comparison, the global average is 18.2 and the African average is 26.6; Madagascar has the 24th-highest fatality rate out of 175 countries or regions assessed. About half of vehicle fatalities are pedestrians. According to the government of Canada, car collisions in Madagascar may instigate crowd violence. Car collisions in which a participant is injured or killed necessitate a court case, where the parties found liable for damages are required to cover all expenses related to the case; leaving Madagascar is prohibited prior to the completion of the case.

(bandits) have attacked vehicles, leading the government to require that vehicles travel in convoys of at least 10 on many roads. Vehicles seek to travel at higher speeds, but become more vulnerable to attacks when forced by potholes to slow. Herds of zebu may also pose a hazard to driving. It is customary in Madagascar to blow one's car horn while traveling around road curves in order to notify other drivers of one's presence. Random vehicle checkpoints at which travelers are required to produce identity documents are spread throughout Madagascar.

See also

* '' Muddling Through in Madagascar'', a 1985 book by Irish author Dervla Murphy which details public transport and road conditions in Madagascar as they existed in the mid-1980s.

Notes

Madagascar French terms

References

{{Driving by country

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Road transport in Madagascar