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View Full Version : Two wheels better in Togo



Bob
22nd July 2004, 00:18
Need a taxi in Togo? Climb aboard a Zemidjan.

The name Zemidjan means "take me quickly" in the local language. Small capacity bikes with engines of between 50cc and 125cc are used. Their ability to nip in and out of gaps cars cannot and bump along paths and tracks considered inaccessible up until now has opened up public transport to a far wider area than previously thought possible.

Amusingly, the Zemidjans were introduced as a temporary solution to a public transport and taxi-drives strike, but have flourished since and are now considered to be a well-established business. It is estimated there are around 50,000 of these machines on Togo’s roads and 80% of the population use them to get around.

Nice to see a little ingenuity being rewarded.