The state of public transport systems in three Sub-Saharan African cities

Abstract

Current rates of urbanization in Sub-Saharan African cities place considerable pressures on the public infrastructures that serve their growing populations. More particularly with respect to the focus of this chapter, they give rise to problems associated with providing access, as transport system capacities have seldom, if ever, increased at the same rate as travel demand. The majority of people who live in cities do not have the resources to own private motor vehicles, and consequently public transport services assume great importance in sustaining livelihoods. Despite relatively low rates of car ownership, improved household incomes among a relatively small middle class have nevertheless led to accelerated motorization. As a result, congestion on city arterials has worsened and, in the absence of effective road space prioritization for buses, the quality of public transport service has declined. A combination of limited road capacity and weak traffic management and law enforcement resources often results in congestion levels that are considerably worse than in cities in other parts of the world, despite significantly smaller private vehicle fleets. These problems are exacerbated by weak institutional and planning frameworks, and limited fiscal and household financial resources.

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