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The Paratransit Puzzle: Mapping and Master Planning for Transportation in Maputo and Nairobi
Abstract
Most citizens in African cities rely on semi-formal bus systems called paratransit. Yet these mobility systems tend to be invisible or marginal within formal urban planning processes: "a paratransit puzzle". Through comparative analysis of recent master plans for Maputo and Nairobi, we concretely demonstrate this gap in official planning. We also show preliminary evidence from Maputo and Nairobi to suggest that collaborative paratransit mapping can support more inclusive transportation planning conversations.Overall, given the importance of these mobility systems in African cities, we argue that paratransit needs to be a more central concern within an inclusive planning process.
... Transport planning practice is still dominated typically by engineers in both Global North and South. In African urban contexts Klopp andCavoli (2018: 105, citing Easterly, 2013) describe how, so often, they are tied up in a planning imaginary that is dominated by a 'tyranny of experts' (national and international) and prioritises the promotion of automobility. ...
... GPS mapping has also been central to producing public transport maps in Nairobi, with both policy and planning impact (albeit hard-won). In this case the research took a collaborative mapping approach in which local students travelled matatu routes with GPS-enabled cell phones, supported by (presumably stationary) interviews and focus group discussions with drivers(Klopp and Cavoli 2018). ...
This chapter focuses on innovative field research methodologies developed over the last few decades that have the potential to support and promote more inclusive transport planning. The review covers methodologies that have been tried out in the Global North and in the Global South, with specific reference to applications in the context of mobilities/transport research and policy, and considers the potential for future applications with specific reference to the Global South. In the Global South transport planning still typically takes the form of a technocratic exercise conducted by a “tyranny of experts,” national and international, whose enthrallment with automobility may severely impede their appreciation of the mobility needs of the public they are appointed to serve (as Klopp and Cavoli, 2018: 105, citing Easterly, 2013, note with reference to African city planning). The everyday experiences, perceptions and needs of the poor, notably slum residents, and of wider vulnerable groups (women, children, older people, the infirm) are often not only marginalized but stigmatized (particularly through association of low income areas with criminality), both by government and private sector planning partners. For more socially equitable mobility solutions to be adopted in the cities of the Global South, broader application of field research methodologies that can engage effectively with a wide spectrum of potential transport users (including marginalized groups) is needed. Significant quantities of sound empirical evidence from such research will be required before the majority of policymakers, urban planners and city managers/personnel start to fully engage with the social dimensions of transport planning. Whether the “new normal” following the COVID-19 pandemic will provide the requisite opportunities to build such engagement currently remains uncertain.
... Using Ghana as case study, this paper aims to deepen our understanding of Africa's used vehicle dependency. As with other countries in the continent (Klopp & Cavoli, 2017;Oviedo et al., 2021), people walk a great deal in Ghana to access work and services (Koinange, 2018;Obeng-Atuah et al., 2017). For longer distances, however, many of them rely on the ubiquitous "tro-tro" (minibuses) as well as personal cars-the majority of which tend to be used vehicles (Obeng-Odoom, 2010ITA, 2020). ...
African countries serve as used vehicle dumping sites for advanced capitalist countries, undermining global and local goals to move toward safe and low-emissions transport. Africa’s used vehicle dependency is commonly explained in terms of push-pull factors linked to demand for new cars and stringent environmental policies in wealthier countries that make available used vehicles for export, the limited purchasing power for less-polluting new safer vehicles, and weak regulation of vehicle emissions in Africa, all of which sustain used vehicle import on the continent. Drawing on the Ghanaian case, we present an enhanced explanation that brings in the role of historical underinvestment in public transport and larger processes that channel public resources toward car-oriented transport and land use, marginalizing other modes of transport used by the majority. Using historically informed political economy analyses and drawing on interviews and grey literature including media and institutional sources, this paper makes two contributions. First, it advances used vehicle research by moving beyond the push-pull approach to incorporate the historical institutional drivers of used vehicle and automobile consumption generally in Africa. Second, it provides insight into why used vehicle import bans on their own are unlikely to lead to sustained environmental and public health benefits and instead recommends more holistic policies for shifting toward cleaner, safer and affordable public transport in Africa. Transport and land-use planning reforms and investment prioritizing public transit including minibus recapitalization programs, as well as mixed land use and transit-oriented development can help reduce used vehicle dependency and the harms it brings.
... In Sub-Saharan African cities, issues at the macro scale have almost invariably been addressed from a top down perspective, both in the accessibility literature and in practice (Bautista-Hernández, 2020; Levine, 2020), and from a quantitative perspective (Cheng and Bertolini, 2013;Klopp and Cavoli, 2017;Malekzadeh and Chung, 2020;Páez et al., 2012;van Wee, 2016). This leads to decision-making processes disconnected from the experiences of citizens most affected by the way the city develops (Oviedo and Nieto-Combariza, 2021;Uteng and Lucas, 2017;Venter et al., 2019). ...
In the context of still-low-but-rising levels of motorization and economic growth, increasing social and spatial inequalities, and growing concerns about air pollution and climate change, the formulation and implementation of policies, practices and partnerships that can support an accelerated implementation of sustainable mobility policies is an urgent concern for rapidly developing cities. This paper seeks to contribute to reframing some of the knowledge and methodologies produced in and about cities of Sub-Saharan Africa, through a comprehensive assessment of mobility patterns and accessibility needs within a larger debate about mobility transitions and sustainable development. By deploying a mixed-methods approach that builds upon case-study focus groups and city-wide accessibility and mobility analysis in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, the paper maps travel patterns and their links with structural factors such as urban form, poverty, informality and social identities at the macro, meso and micro levels. The paper also presents evidence from a variety of methods that illustrate the significance of accessibility-centred information and analysis for establishing policy priorities for improving urban mobility and accessibility in the local, African and global contexts.
... In Sub-Saharan African cities, issues at the macro scale have almost invariably been addressed from a top down perspective, both in the accessibility literature and in practice (Bautista-Hernández, 2020; Levine, 2020), and from a quantitative perspective (Cheng and Bertolini, 2013;Klopp and Cavoli, 2017;Malekzadeh and Chung, 2020;Páez et al., 2012;van Wee, 2016). This leads to decision-making processes disconnected from the experiences of citizens most affected by the way the city develops (Oviedo and Nieto-Combariza, 2021;Uteng and Lucas, 2017;Venter et al., 2019). ...
... For instance, 62% of Kisumu's inhabitants are estimated to live in informal settlements. In Nairobi, the spatial structure inherited from colonial times reinforced socio-spatial and income-based segregation and resulted in dramatic divergences in residential densities [24] (half of its population on 5% of the total residential area only) [25]. In Kigali, intensive efforts to modernize infrastructure link with waves of evictions and the concentration of the low-income population in the peripheral "bedroom" types of districts [26]. ...
Electric mobility is beginning to enter East African cities. This paper aims to investigate what policy-level solutions and stakeholder constellations are established in the context of electric mobility (e-mobility) in Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Kisumu and Nairobi and in which ways they attempt to tackle the implementation of electric mobility solutions. The study employs two key methods including content analysis of policy and programmatic documents and interviews based on a purposive sampling approach with stakeholders involved in mobility transitions. The study findings point out that in spite of the growing number of policies (specifically in Rwanda and Kenya) and on-the-ground developments, a set of financial and technical barriers persists. These include high upfront investment costs in vehicles and infrastructure, as well as perceived lack of competitiveness with fossil fuel vehicles that constrain the uptake of e-mobility initiatives. The study further indicates that transport operators and their representative associations are less recognized as major players in the transition, far behind new e-mobility players (start-ups) and public authorities. This study concludes by identifying current gaps that need to be tackled by policymakers and stakeholders in order to implement inclusive electric mobility in East African cities, considering modalities that include transport providers and address their financial constraints.
Walkability is generally defined by the extent to which the built environment supports and encourages walking by promoting pedestrian comfort, connectivity and convenience. This paper scrutinizes the steps taken in Johannesburg to develop walkability policies and projects. It draws on empirical evidence from the pedestrian policies (e.g., the Corridors of Freedom) and pedestrian projects (e.g., the Grayston Pedestrian Bridge) recently introduced. Rather than focusing on the merits of walkability or the ease of its application, this paper highlights the misunderstandings of introducing walkability in Johannesburg. The concept is particularly problematic in Johannesburg, where the “unpleasantness of walking” and “walkability-with-people” is insufficiently considered. In a broader sense, this discussion aims to first understand urban planning in an African/Global South city, and then to decolonize transport planning by bringing the experiences in Johannesburg to the forefront. Such a critical reading of the intertwined and overlapping practices of policymaking provides additional insights into the processes of urban planning and transport in Johannesburg and beyond.
Literature about transport in the Caribbean is scarce. Furthermore, the lack of studies exploring the complexities associated with informality in transport in cities of the Caribbean stands in contrast with the wealth of literature about cities in the neighboring Central and South America. This knowledge gap has led to limited evidence and methods tailored to the region to inform transport policy, public investments, and regulation. This paper seeks to partially address this gap by presenting a snapshot of public transport supply (and suppliers) in Haiti's Metropolitan Area of Port-Au-Prince (PAP), an urban context marked by acute poverty and inequality social vulnerability. The paper frames the analysis in three dimensions of informal organization of transport supply: functional, space-time, and social, building on a literature review of informal transport in the Global South. The study builds on a survey conducted in 2018 to 461 drivers of Tap-Tap, privately-owned and operated modified pick-ups providing collective transport services to a large share of PAP's public transport demand. We construct a profile of the modes of organization and operation of Tap-Tap services under the three dimensions in the framework. The paper finds low levels of representation and organization, a limited role of drivers' associations, an overwhelmingly old fleet, and a masculine, unequal and exploitative system for operations. We also find that personal relationships play a significant role in the profitability of support functions of informal transport services. Such findings can inform policy and regulation in a highly dependent context from international development assistance, providing much-needed evidence for addressing pressing urban transport planning investment priorities.
At a time when most large cities across the post-Soviet space have effectively formalised or eradicated their once ubiquitous fleets of informal taxis, in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, thousands of private car owners continue to offer paid trips to their fellow residents on a daily basis. Drawing on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the remarkable endurance of this practice, locally known as taksovanie. It eschews popular conceptions of informal mobility as a token of institutional failure and attributes the non-formalisation of Tashkent’s informal taxis to the local authorities’ politically-driven active permissiveness on account of the taxis’ social embeddedness and the authorities’ striving for appeasement and social peace. This so-called “appeasement policy” relies on the delegation of the exertion of regulatory pressure to traffic police officers, whose habitual elasticity towards informal taxi drivers allows the authorities to meet their double goal of exhibiting regulatory power, on the one hand, and retaining an important survival strategy and a popular and affordable means of urban transport, on the other. The article thus uncovers the role of various levels of state authority in the production and endurance of Tashkent’s informal taxis, introducing the notion of the informality “under the auspices of the state” and illustrating how the state simultaneously produces informality by determining what is formal and consents to it whenever that serves its political goals.
Background and objectives:
Buses are the most common form of public transport for older adults in developing countries. With over 37 percent of total trips, buses are the principal mode of transport in Dhaka. The majority of older adults are dependent on buses because of their affordability relative to other modes such as auto rickshaw, ride shares and taxis. This study aims to investigate key barriers in accessing buses in Dhaka and the consequences of these barriers to the everyday mobility of older adults.
Research design and methods:
Thirty participants aged ≥60 years were recruited from two socio-economically different neighbourhoods in Dhaka. We employed a thematic analysis of visual surveys and in-depth interviews to understand older adults' spatial and cultural context and their experiences using buses in their everyday lives.
Results:
Boarding and deboarding buses were common barriers for older adults due to overcrowding and traffic congestion. In addition, older adults faced challenges such as ageism, gender discrimination and undesirable behaviour by transport personnel and co-passengers. These barriers affected their independent mobility and influenced their access to work and social life, contributing to their social exclusion.
Discussion and implications:
This study illustrates the challenges faced by older adults when accessing public transport and the need to improve access to work, health care, and social life. Inclusive transport policies are essential in low- and middle-income countries to improve the well-being of older adults.
Urban growth has been increasing rapidly across the globe, in particular in low and middle-income developing countries. As city populations and GDP per capita rise exponentially, cities tend to experience similar challenges related to urban development and transport/mobility.
One of the most problematic issues emerges when urban growth drives car-oriented urban development. This is characterised by a range of unsustainable patterns such as low-density development, urban sprawl, lack of plans and infrastructure to accommodate collective transport and active travel, and significant efforts and investments to meet the demand for private motorised vehicle use. For emergent cities, the risk is that these developments lead to highly inefficient, unhealthy and unsustainable urban systems that are difficult to remedy.
This paper aims to identify recurrent governance and policy factors across sectors, as well as macro factors, that tend to contribute to car-dependent urban mobility systems in rapidly growing cities. It draws on qualitative and quantitative research findings from five under-researched Eastern European and Middle Eastern cities: Tallinn, Bucharest, Skopje, Adana and Amman. Data examining the evolution of urban mobility in these cities were collected as part of the Horizon2020 EU funded project CREATE.
The paper investigates the extent to which car-dependent urban development processes can be avoided in rapidly growing cities, to support transitions towards liveable and sustainable cities. Finally, it provides policy recommendations targeting growing cities with low levels of car-use, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the importance of acting swiftly to achieve targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda or the Paris Agreement, by supporting policies fostering efficient, sustainable and inclusive urban mobility and land-use across sectors and levels of governance.
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