This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Published on November 14, 2019, a severe public transport crisis has gripped Sudan's capital, Khartoum, with thousands of residents struggling to find a ride home.
Worsening shortages of fuel and spare parts for dilapidated vehicles have combined with traffic jams on potholed roads to halt public services and drive many private operators out of business.
For Khartoum University student Ruqaya al-Nur, 24, the crisis has become a daily struggle. "We took to the streets in demonstrations," she said. "We now have a civilian government, but there is still no solution to this crisis."
Volunteers, many of whom are enthusiastic veterans of the pro-democracy protests, have taken to the streets to help alleviate the crisis. During peak hours, they urge private car owners and bus drivers to ferry stranded passengers, often free of charge.
"On your way home, take two people with you!" shouted a volunteer at drivers on a Khartoum road. Many drivers stopped to help, and the volunteers' efforts have been praised by residents like Nur, who said, "If each private car that is passing by takes just one or two people along, the crisis will be solved."
However, the elderly have been particularly hard hit, with many struggling to find a ride home. Hajj Abu Ahmed, a resident of Omdurman near Khartoum, stood waiting in front of the Grand Bahri mosque in north Khartoum, saying, "I can't run... I have been waiting for two hours."
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has pledged to import new buses, spare parts to repair the old ones, and fix ramshackle roads. The government has also ordered ministries and state offices to deploy their vehicles to transport people free of charge.
