Looking at the informal economy: a case study concerning Luanda's minibus taxi industry

Abstract

The role, characteristics and increasing factors of the minibus taxi industry in urban economies (Kenya, Senegal, and Nigeria, among others) have been studied in various African countries. Many studies have been carried out on these matters with the support of the World Bank, through SSTAP or in the context of SITRASS research programs. There has been almost no research on this subject in Lusophone Africa.subject in Lusophone Africa. Machimbombo is the Angolan expression for bus. The machimbombos was the only means of transport providing urban mobility in Luanda, the Angolan capital city, at the time of independence and in the first years which followed. Over the last 25 years there have been significant changes in the urban landscape due to the prolonged civil war and the political and economic transformations.