Smart Plates Bring a Fear of Being Priced Off the Road

Smart Plates Bring a Fear of Being Priced Off the Road

Jun 14 , 2026. By MASTEWAL ZEMENE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

Eight months after its expected launch, the Addis Abeba Driver & Vehicle Licensing & Control Authority has initiated a mandatory vehicle license plate replacement program. Unveiled on Thursday, June 11, 2026, the new "ETH" plates feature tracking microchips and matching windshield tags designed to monitor the city's 800,000 vehicles. While its General Manager, Zegeye Belayneh, asserted the tamper-proof system will aid national policymaking and close security gaps, transport operators argue that tighter supervision could achieve these goals without shifting the financial burden onto working drivers.

A regulatory change presented by city transport officials as vehicle modernisation has landed in Addis Abeba as a bill that vehicle owners protest they cannot afford.

What began as a delayed licence-plate rollout has widened into a discontent over revenue, safety and the survival of small transport operators whose costs have risen faster than fares.

Officials of the Addis Abeba Driver & Vehicle Licensing & Control Authority launched the replacement programme eight months after the expected start. The new plates carry an “ETH” country code, tracking microchips and matching windshield tags. Vehicle logbooks ("Libre" in local parlance) and annual windshield inspection stickers ("Bolo") must be replaced.

Zegeye Belayneh, general manager of the Authority, disclosed that four million plates have been produced in China and that production is expected to shift to Ethiopia. According to him, the system supports data analysis, national policymaking, cross-regional movement and efforts to curb illicit vehicle operations.

"A tamper-proof mechanism was developed to keep windshield tags from being removed, and personalised and special plates are planned," he said during a media briefing held on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at his headquarters in the Meklit Building, on Equatorial Guinea St. near the Lem Hotel area.

The officials allege that the existing system left gaps for "criminals and informal operators," including plates that were easily damaged and prone to duplication.

However, transport operators argue that stronger records, targeted enforcement and tighter supervision could meet the same goals. The dispute is less about registration than about who should pay for a policy ordered from above.

“I'm comfortable working with the existing plate,” said Abraham Aschalew, a veteran taxi driver. “If the government wants to change it to make safety, monitoring, and operations easier, it should allocate its own budget. It has nothing to do with my livelihood.”

The cost has become the centre of the growing public discontent. Transport officials had previously set metal sheet sales targets at 11,000 Br, but operators claim the plates are standard aluminium rather than a specialised composite. Industry insiders estimate that 2,800 Br worth of aluminium bought in bulk can produce 30 to 40 standard plates, putting what they consider a fair public cost at around 300 Br.

Zegeye declined to disclose the fee for the new plates officially. Yet vehicle owners visiting newly opened centres in the Bole, Yeka, and Kirkos districts were charged much higher fees. At the Bole Branch, Selamawit Kassahun arrived to collect plates for a car she bought through a bank loan and found herself facing an additional 56,000 Br. She called the fees "unfair."

More than 800,000 vehicles are estimated to operate in Addis Abeba, while at least 1.6 million vehicles nationwide will eventually be required to change plates. Owners claim those concerns do not justify the size or timing of the burden. The rollout is accompanied by mandatory re-testing and re-licensing for long-serving drivers. Critics call it redundant, for drivers already trained, inspected, tested and certified by accredited driving schools.

“A taxi driver who learned at an accredited driving school was certified as competent," said Abraham. "Telling us to be tested again completely defies logic. The driving schools themselves are the same old ones. They haven’t built new schools. This entire thing is just a money-collection scheme.”

Taxi drivers like Abraham spend at least 23,000 Br a month on spare parts. A single tyre costs about 20,000 Br. The price of standard engine oil has increased by more than seven times from 1,000 Br. Brake pads cost 1,800 Br to 2,000 Br a month, while informal charges, including queue marshal fees known as "Tera Askebari", have uniformly jumped to 25 Br. Administrative penalties add to the pressure.

Abraham recalled missing a week of work for a family funeral, only to receive an 8,000 Br attendance fine after officials checked the registry.

“I'm suffering under my own property,” he said. “It makes us taxi drivers feel like citizens of another country.”

Meter-taxi operators complain of a similar squeeze. Ridership has weakened as inflation pushes commuters toward cheaper public transport, while taxes, commissions, customs duties and fuel prices rise.

According to Mikiyas Fikadu, who has driven for a decade and operated a meter taxi for two years, regulators ignored the capacity of lower-income operators.

“I'm not working to accumulate wealth or upgrade my lifestyle," he told Fortune. "I'm running around only to support my family and make ends meet.”

According to Mikiyas, the new plate and licensing fees have further damaged his morale.

“I can’t even think about getting married," he said. "I don’t want to take on another responsibility when I can’t even manage this one.”

Mikiyas urged the Authority to review driver records and send repeat traffic offenders for retraining, rather than requiring incident-free drivers to prove their competence again.

Other operators caution that silence should not be mistaken for consent.

Like many commercial vehicle owners, Belay Melke, another meter-taxi driver, has financed his vehicle purchase through "Equb", a traditional savings scheme, and bank loans. This leaves owners like him exposed to every new charge.

“If we voice our protest, we will be labelled with some other political brand,” Belay said. “It’s not because people are contented. No one wants to accept this blindly.”

Nuredin Ditamo Abdella, chairman of the Blen Taxi Associations, saw the pressure intensify beyond anything he had experienced in his working life, after about 16 years leading the lobby group. He has been driving for 44 years, beginning from the Emperor's time.

“There has always been pressure, but I've never seen it as severe as it is now," Nuredin told Fortune. "Our silence has turned us into submission.”

Nuredin conceded that safety training matters in a country with high rates of traffic accidents, but he questioned why a three- to six-hour seminar should command a high fee. He cited charges he believes are inflated, including 5,000 Br to replace a lost licence card and another 5,000 Br to obtain a single A4 document, for temporarily freezing a vehicle logbook.

“The government has turned the taxi driver into a money-making machine,” Nuredin said. “By enforcing these unfair and bloated fees, they are actively crippling the transport sector.”

Policy and automotive experts also question the objective of these changes. According to Abiy Alene, an automotive instructor at Kotebe Metropolitan University, the government should have commissioned an independent needs assessment and submitted it to public review before launching the transition.

“The policy is simply drafted and ordered to be implemented,” Abiy said. “This approach makes citizens feel alienated.”

Abiy argued that reforms should focus on administrative integrity, not only hardware. Older and non-digital plates already have hidden security features, including an embedded map of Ethiopia visible on close inspection. He questioned why the state would seek to profit from a mandatory transition, stating that earlier updates charged only the administrative cost of service.

Abiy linked the dispute to a wider fiscal shift, claiming that revenue targets from traffic fines are now included in federal budget plans, shifting penalties from tools of public education and accident prevention to revenue collection.

“Changing plates without fixing internal administrative flaws will bring no real change unless the goal is to generate revenue,” Abiy said. “This money-oriented approach doesn't produce safety or quality."

PUBLISHED ON Jun 14,2026 [ VOL 27 , NO 1363]