claimed by police and military officers. To put this figure in perspective: San Francisco and Oakland are separated by a similar distance to that between Kinshasa and Brazzaville. If, relative to local average income, the same costs applied to crossing the Bay Bridge as those that currently have to be paid to cross Malebo Pool, San Francisco residents would pay between 1,200 and 2,400 dollars for a return trip to Oakland.

_Table 10: Estimated Cost of Passenger Crossing between Kinshasa and Brazzaville (in USD)_

||**From K**<br>_Ferry_|**inshasa to Br**<br>_Fast boat_<br>_("canot")_|**azzaville**<br>_Dugout_<br>_canoe_|**From B**<br>_Ferry_|**razzaville to**<br>_Fast boat_<br>_("canot")_|**Kinshasa**<br>_Dugout_<br>_canoe_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|One-wayfare|12.10|25.00|2.80|10.80|21.60|2.80|
|Travel document (“laissez-passer”)<br>at origin|5.00|5.00||5.90|5.90||
|Search(“jeton fouille”)at origin|2.00|||2.00|||
|Port fee (“redevance portuaire”) at<br>origin|2.70|2.00||2.40|4.70||
|Vaccination card at origin|1.60||||||
|Various fees and taxes at<br>destination|12.50|15.00||11.80|16.00||
|Police/military at origin (“droit de<br>passage”,“commisse”etc.)|||4.70|||9.80|
|Police/military at destination (“droit<br>depassage”,“commisse” etc.)|||5.00|||7.60|
|_Total_|_35.90_|_47.00_|_12.50_|_32.90_|_48.20_|_20.20_|

Source: confidential survey of 57 trading firms in Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Prices converted using exchange rates of 910 Congolese francs per USD and 510 CFA francs per USD

**Trading firms consider the existing transport infrastructure grossly inadequate.** Only two ageing ferries are in operation: ONATRA’s “Matadi” and a smaller vessel operated  by CNTF, both of which make two daily return trips. Normally, the 120-ton “Matadi” carries some 2,000 passengers a day, of which 600-700 pay a fare, and a small number of vehicles. However, the “Matadi” had to be taken out of service by the end of June 2010 and replaced with the smaller vessel “Ikanda”, because of safety concerns, further reducing capacity. CNTF’s ferry is considerably smaller still. In recent years, the two ferry operators have granted a fixed number of concessions to private transport firms, who run small passenger speed boats (“canots”) between the two cities for a fee paid to the ferry operators (for which, they claim, they receive no services in return). As evident from Table 10, the prices of travel in fast boats are prohibitive for most residents.

**Traders are frustrated by tight timetables and poor organization of the ferry ports.** Officially, passenger traffic is allowed only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays and between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Sundays.<sup>25</sup> Some frequent travelers furthermore complain about unpredictable port closures due to passing politicians. The poor organization of the ferry ports (“Beaches”) and transport facilities adds to high transport costs and limited capacity. Traders and simple travelers are not treated separately, which complicates customs procedures and increases opportunities for rent

> 25 This is a severe constraint for delivery of fresh produce, forcing many traders to make night-time trips by dugout canoe. Furthermore, it makes it impossible for residents of one city to use the airport of the other city for flights arriving in the afternoon or evening. Long-time residents still remember the days when it was common to travel across the river and back for late-afternoon football matches.

25