Governing Informal Mobility in Luanda: Taxis, Urban Expansion and Everyday Access to the city

Abstract This article examines the role of informal transport in shaping urban mobility, access and governance in Luanda, Angola. Since the civil war, rapid population growth and territorial expansion have intensified daily mobility needs, while formal public transport provision has remained limited and uneven. In this context, informal taxis, motorcycle taxis and neighbourhood taxis have become central to the functioning of the metropolitan region, linking peripheral settlements, new urban developments and central areas. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork conducted in Luanda between 2022, 2024 and 2025, including participant observation, informal conversations and semi-structured interviews with passengers, drivers and representatives of taxi associations, the article analyses informal transport as both a practical mobility infrastructure and a contested political field. The findings show that informal transport is indispensable for access to employment, education, healthcare, markets and religious and social life. At the same time, the sector is marked by precarious labour conditions, regulatory uncertainty, police enforcement, corruption allegations and recurrent conflict with state authorities. The article argues that informal transport in Luanda should not be understood merely as a temporary substitute for formal provision, but as a durable component of African urbanisation. Its governance requires approaches based on recognition, dialogue and co-production rather than punitive regulation alone.