Myths and Realities of “Informal” Public Transport in Developing Countries: Approaches for Improving the Sector

Myths and Realities of “Informal” Public Transport in Developing Countries: Approaches for Improving the Sector

Understanding the basic causes of the transport system’s decline and the dominance of informal public transport is essential before improvements can be identified. Because of its social, economic, and environmental importance, the paper’s main focus is on public transport in general, specifically its so-called “informal” aspects. The objectives of the paper are to:

a) examine the uniqueness of public transport systems in Sub-Saharan African cities in terms of their historical, institutional, spatial, social, environmental, economic, and political contexts;

b) explore the causes of the decline of developing country transport systems in general and in public transport’s degradation in particular;

c) discuss commonly-held misconceptions so that policymakers at all levels of government can understand the issues that must be addressed if “informal” public transport is to be improved as part of an enhanced, customer-driven public transport system; and

d) propose the outline of a roadmap for making improvements.

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