Paratransit in African cities: operations, regulation, and reform

Mixing the formal with the informal in shared right-of-way systems: A simulation-based case study in Tshwane, South Africa

“…There is a growing literature on the informal public transport industry (also called paratransit, popular, or artisanal transport), based on an acknowledgment that these modes are fundamentally important for mobility in many global south cities (Behrens et al, 2015).…”

The ride-sourcing industry: status-quo and outlook

“…Context-dependent solutions are especially important in the 'Global South', where the provision of public transport is deficient and regulation is scarce (Behrens, McCormick, and Mfinanga 2016). Under these circumstances, the implications of TNCs may differ substantially: TNCs that serve as intermediaries between suppliers and riders could reveal the potential to fundamentally change the governance structure of a market that currently is based on informal services, bilateral negotiations and a self-organizing structure (Olvera et al 2016;Ehebrecht, Heinrichs, and Lenz 2018;Heinrichs, Goletz and Lenz 2017) and, consequentially, TNCs can effectively increase social welfare by fulfilling mobility requirements not being met today or being met by informal transport services.…”

Impacts and Challenges for Developing Countries

“…Nevertheless, various studies have shown that mobility in the cities of developing countries is characterized by much lower motorization rates, less private car use and a higher proportion of walking, public transport, and notably informal transport. The latter, which fills the gaps in public transport provision (Cervero and Golub, 2011;Cervero and Golub, 2007), takes extraordinarily varied forms from one city to another, and meets the day-to-day mobility needs of millions of people (Lesteven and Boutueil, 2018;Paget-Seekins and Tironi, 2016;Phun and Yai 2016;Behrens et al, 2015;Sengers and Raven, 2014). However, paratransit has long been negatively perceived by local authorities on grounds of safety, pollution and congestion (Kumar et al, 2016;Sengers and Raven, 2014), which has led to attempts at formalization in some cities in Latin America (Paget-Seekins and Tironi, 2016;Golub et al, 2009) or Africa (Venter, 2013;Schalekamp and Behrens, 2010).…”

“…As recent research has demonstrated, paratransit services -including all the intermediate transport modes between the private car and mass transit, whether formal or informal -play a major part in African urban mobility systems (Behrens et al, 2015). In particular, they are a key asset in providing access to demand segments that are not otherwise served, especially in a context of rapid demand growth (Cervero and Golub, 2011;Lesteven and Boutueil, 2018).…”