Browse
Log in / Register
Share
March 11, 2025 – In Antananarivo, Madagascar, a $170 million cable car system once hailed as a solution to chronic gridlock now hangs unused after just a few weeks of operation. The project, financed largely by French loans and promoted by former President Andry Rajoelina, was meant to lift 75,000 commuters daily above the city’s snarled streets. Instead, it became a symbol of misaligned priorities in one of the world’s poorest nations.
The cable cars were inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare. Rajoelina compared the moment to France building the Eiffel Tower, and he rode the system with his prime minister above Antananarivo’s steep hills and cramped neighborhoods. But ordinary Madagascans stayed away. The reason was simple: ticket prices were set at 70 to 90 U.S. cents per trip—six to eight times the cost of a minibus taxi. In a country where the average monthly salary for a commuter is around $72, according to World Bank data, spending that much on a 10-to-30-minute ride made no economic sense.
“Money is far more important than time when you’re living on the edge,” said Pieter Onderwater, a public transport planning consultant and guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town. “If the price is six times higher than a conventional taxi, people will sit in traffic because they know better things to do with that money.”
Beyond cost, the project faced deep skepticism from residents who had long complained about basic services like water and electricity. “In a city where they cannot even fix the roads, how can we trust being more than 20 meters above the ground when there is a power cut?” asked Erica, a shop owner in Antananarivo who gave only her first name. Power outages frequently halted the system during its brief run, undermining confidence.
The cable car’s failure also reflects a broader problem in African infrastructure: a mismatch between high-tech visions and everyday realities. Critics point out that the $170 million could have funded thousands of minibuses, improved road maintenance, or extended water and electricity networks. Instead, the cables now hang idle, a costly reminder of poor planning.
Rajoelina was ousted in a military coup late last year following youth-led protests over government failures. The cable car project, once a flagship of his administration, is now a stranded asset. The French development agency that provided loans has not commented on the future of the system.
Exclusive perspective: The same pattern has played out in other African cities. In Nairobi, Kenya, a similar high-tech bus rapid transit system struggled with low ridership due to high fares and poor integration with existing routes. Experts say infrastructure projects in developing countries must start with affordability and local needs, not just engineering ambition.
Madagascar’s poverty rate hovers around 75% out of 30 million people. For many, a 90-cent cable car ride is a luxury, not a necessity. The government has not announced plans to repurpose or dismantle the system, leaving the city’s gridlock unsolved.
The lesson for other fast-growing African cities: cable cars can’t replace basic public transport. As one resident put it, “We don’t need a sky train. We need clean water, reliable power, and a bus that doesn’t cost a day’s wages.”
