Informal paratransit in the Global South

Abstract

This chapter synthesises current knowledge of informal paratransit services in cities of the Global South and discusses prevailing policy issues and emerging trends. The scope of the chapter is limited to unscheduled public transport and for-hire services operating in whole, or in part, within the informal economy. The chapter focuses on three regions of the Global South: Africa, Asia, and Latin America.It reviews current knowledge in relation to business models, regulatory regimes, and operating practices. While illustrating that the sector is heterogeneous across, and within, these regions, this review shows that informal paratransit services are usually operated by small businesses organised into associations that exert varying degrees of self-regulation. Service operations are seldom free of state regulation, but the extent can vary. Operating environments often have considerable infrastructure deficits, and driver employment conditions can be exploitative.

Making equity work: Implementing socially-targeted urban transport policies

“…These considerations are further compounded by the rapid evolution of technologies and the emphasis from global, national and local actors in the modernisation of transport to reduce carbon emissions (Jennings, 2020). Many structural challenges for sustainable and inclusive transport such as high dependency of informal employment for securing livelihoods in large segments of urban populations in the global south (Günther and Launov, 2012), the need for public transport reforms that address longstanding inefficiencies and externalities associated with traditional and, often informal, public transport systems (Cervero and Golub, 2007;Gómez-Lobo, 2020;Behrens, Chalermpong and Oviedo, 2021), and the significant gaps in accessibility between rich and poor (Bryceson, Mbara and Maunder, 2003;Slovic et al, 2019) remain across cities of the global south. Despite such structural challenges, the emergence of new forms of urban mobility in the shared economy and new technologies for urban transport as relevant considerations for policy, planning and management are also growing in scale and complexity in global south cities (Marsden et al, 2019;Priye and Manoj, 2020;Acheampong, 2021;Sabogal-Cardona et al, 2021).…”

Paratránsito y expansión urbana: el transporte informal como dispositivo de urbanización

“…La noción se desarrolló en la década de 1970 en EEUU y Canada, aunque su uso se extendió en 2010 desde la ingeniería y la ciencia social. Varios investigadores del transporte y la movilidad (Ardila, 2005;Klopp & Cavoli, 2019;Behrens et al, 2021;Wright et al, 2021;Falchetta et al, 2021) han adoptado el término en el contexto de urbes en desarrollo para describir el transporte público (Behrens et al, 2021). En la última década, el estudio del paratránsito se ha centrado en América Latina y Asia, pero principalmente en las ciudades africanas, relevando diversos tipos y dinámicas de servicio (Booysen et al, 2013).…”

“…Un hecho que resalta en estas investigaciones es la relación del paratránsito con modelos comerciales que responden a la demanda, a regímenes regulatorios autónomos y a prácticas disímiles, administradas por pequeñas empresas organizadas con grados diversos de autorregulación. Sobresale también que estos operadores son a menudo los únicos servicios que cubren la demanda de grupos vulnerables (Behrens et al, 2021). Un aspecto criticado en estos estudios es que han tendido a concentrarse en perspectivas estáticas (Ndibatya & Booysen, 2021) sin incluir la dinámica de los servicios ni la evolución de rutas.…”

Motorized three-wheelers and their potential for just mobility in Caribbean urban areas

“…These services generally operate in grey areas of regulatory frameworks or government planning and are privately developed without an official endorsement for market entrance or for the practices of operation and organization. These transport services are the only livelihood and mobility option for millions of people around the world, being particularly important in peripheral and disadvantaged areas (Behrens et al, 2021;Tun et al, 2021).…”

“…Despite the ubiquity of popular transport, knowledge and information about its users, operation and the role it plays in environmental and social issues is scarce. In most cities where these forms of mobility operate their impact on accessibility, wellbeing, sustainability or equity remains unknown (Behrens et al, 2021). Robust evidence about the potential and limitations of these transport modes is paramour for urban mobility governance to meet the aims of an effective, efficient, and just transport system.…”