Tunisian Transport

I thought it might be amusing to take a few pictures of the local’s modes of transport. Some of you may have little interest in mechanical things; they just make a lot of noise and smell. Well that would be a fair assumption based on the general state of repair of most of the vehicles here. One must not forget that availability of spare parts in countries like Tunisia has always been sporadic and expensive, it’s not like you can nip down to Halfords or German and Swedish for a cheap pattern part and then have some ham fisted halfwit, fit it with a monkey wrench and a hammer. If your family were fortunate enough to have had an old pickup, passed down through the last three generations, chances are that that it was a French Peugeot 404 or possibly a Renault 4 van. Keeping it on the road/track was never easy.

Nothing is thrown away here; they collect stuff like English scrap metal farmers do, just left out the back of the yard in case of future need. It’s a shame the greedy bastards at home didn’t cash in last year ‘cos the scrap market will be a long time coming back! Thankfully the Ministry of Transport are not welcome in the developing world so cutting two vehicles in half and welding the good bit’s back together is still an option. That scrap combined harvester you see in the UK is put to good use here in Africa. Massey Ferguson 135’s are old but they can fix them easy.


As for two wheels, well, now we’re talking. The French have been the principle donors of Mopeds. That is a two wheeled contraption that can be pedalled if necessary. The ‘new’ Peugeot 103 is all the rage if you can stump up 1500 dhr (£850).

The Mobylette/motobeccane from the 50’s and 60’s is still doing the rounds in various states of disrepair. My Mother had an equivalent when I was in shorts, the Raleigh Runabout. The Chinese are trying to make inroads buy flooding the market with small wheel scooters. They are totally useless on the dirt roads and can’t be repaired when they break. Parts are difficult to get even in the UK.





In town they work ok, like the Italian Vespa or Piagio that withstood years being tested on European roads to ensure they can stand the beating they get in Africa. Scooters are better for carrying goods or children on the foot plate but hopeless for towing a trailer.









A good compromise is the Piaggio Van. Still only a scooter but with a cab and three wheels. Keeps your stuff dry and you can carry no end of vegetables, bricks, fish, seaweed or whatever.
Popular with ice-cream sellers in Italy. Mahdia is not like most Tunisian towns as they have a thriving fishing industry plus a tourist market brining in lots of Euro’s. The cash abundance is obvious in the number of new Renault Clio’s and VW Golf’s. We have seen BMW X5’s too!




Morocco relies almost entirely on Mercedes 200/250 series for Taxi duty but here its old French or Italian Bangers with a few GM/Vauxhall Astra’s for good measure.As is customary, they are all painted yellow like those in NY. Those cabbies that buy new cars for the business have to have them painted but they only paint the outside so when you get in the inside is still in its original colour. They don’t mask them up very well either so you can see the edges all round the panels, still it won’t be long before they have a prang and they need repainting...





The trucks are in pretty good shape despite being so old, lots of Italian 7.5 ton tippers or flatbeds. The loading capacity is limited only to your ability to fasten the goods on to the back, be it sheep or cows or even horses. Fruit and veg is a favourite for flattening the springs, stacked so high you would think they would fall over at the first corner. The Police are oblivious to the mayhem, standing on every roundabout they watch these death traps crawling round slowly to avoid falling on some poor sod on a moped nipping round the outside.




This poor chap is one of the last of a long generation of heavy goods hauliers still operating in Mahdia. I think his day has been and gone as I’ve yet to see the scruffy nag with any goods on his trailer? His master parks him in the shade of a Eucalyptus tree then sit’s in the cafe all day waiting for work.