Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Some elements for a debate on urban mobility in developing countries

Xavier Godard

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Sustainability and diversity of contexts• Diversity of contexts and situations: no unique solution• Sustainable transport? • Sustainable mobility?• The most sustainable mobility is : no mobility?• Sustainable accessibility?• The classical dimensions of sustainibility (how to combine them?)

• Economic• Environmental

• Local: pollution…• Worldwide: GHG

• Social• (institutional)

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Social sustainability

• Mobility viewed as a necessity to survive• Mobility as a means to make living social networks• The obstacle of Public Transport affordability for the poorest• The pitfall of subsidies supposed to benefit the poor• A possible concern on the distinction between poverty and destitution• The worst thing could be to break the traditional accessibility and

mobility without giving people the opportunity to pay for using more expansive means of transport• A paradoxical example in Ouagadougou…

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

The dilemn of public transport target

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Public transport promotion vs limitation of private car use• Rapidly increasing motorization in developing cities• Pressure to develop roads and highways…• At minimum one has to pledge for a more equitable use of roads by different modes, with

priority to PT modes• Limits of Formal/Institutional public transport• BRT a new chance for institutional transport?• Important potential role of paratransit as a complement to mass transport• Various forms, depending on the context

• Minibus and midibus• Shared taxis (collective taxis)• Tricycles• Motorcycle taxis

• Attempts to organize paratransit: an example in Dakar

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

The importance of micro-operators (paratransit) (ancient data 2006)

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

A scheme of dynamic complementarity

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Institutional weakness

• Need to create an authority in order to give consistency to action and planning• But many questions and difficulties• Urban, metropolitan… what boundaries?• Urban transport (public transport companies…) or urban mobility (the whole

means of transport)?• Organizing Authority or Regulating Authority? (what is the scheme?)

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

New potential schemes induced by progress in information technology?• Mobile applications could be useful to reorganize paratransit

operation• Actually a complex matter• Beside the technology there are social relationships!• The Uber model to be discussed…

Antwerp University, 16th November 2015

Last remarks, not a conclusion

• Energy remains a major concern, even if • Global warming will have impacts to integrate (resilience to natural

catastrophs?)• Is there a war context and what could be its impact on urban mobility

in developing cities?