INFORMAL TRANSPORT: THE INVISIBLE ARTERIES OF URBAN MOBILITY

In Brief

In African cities, informal transport networks dominate, covering up to 95% of motorized trips, filling crucial mobility gaps.

Despite significance, informal transport lacks recognition, risking perpetuating inequalities and worsening congestion.

Informal transport adapts quickly but lacks centralized control, posing integration and regulation challenges.

Innovative analytics reveal informal networks' dynamics, aiding urban planning and policymaking.

Leveraging data and technology enhances informal transport, contributing to inclusive, sustainable urban transportation systems.

A Chaotic Symphony of Urban Movement

Bustling streets, honking cars, pedestrians, and street vendors. Brightly colored minibuses weaving through the traffic, picking up and dropping off passengers at random unofficial stops. Bus conductors hanging off open doors of moving buses yelling popular stops like “Oshodi! Oshodi!!” If you’ve never been to a major African city, this chaotic scene might seem bewildering, even overwhelming. But for millions of residents across the continent, these informal transport networks are the norm for daily commute.

Informal Transport: The Backbone of Urban Mobility

Informal transport, often referred to as paratransit, encompasses a wide range of privately-owned and operated modes of transportation, including rickshaws, tricycles, minibuses, motorcycle taxis, and more. These flexible and adaptable services emerged to meet the mobility needs of urban populations where formal public transportation systems struggle to keep pace. Research suggests that informal transport is important in most low- and middle-income countries. In African cities, informal services represent up to a colossal 95% of all motorized trips.

The Invisible Networks: Challenges and Consequences

However, despite their pervasive presence and vital function, informal transport networks remain largely invisible to urban planners and policymakers. Lacking official recognition and regulation, these informal systems operate in a gray area, often overlooked or dismissed as temporary solutions to be eventually replaced by more formal modes of transportation. But as cities continue to expand, and populations grow, the need to understand and integrate these informal transport networks into the broader urban mobility landscape becomes increasingly urgent.

Flexibility vs. Complexity: The Duality of Informal Transport

One of the key strengths of informal transport lies in its flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of underserved populations. Unlike fixed-route public transit systems, which often struggle to reach remote or low-income areas, informal operators can quickly adjust their routes and schedules to cater to shifting mobility patterns and emerging demand hotspots (The World Bank, 2022). This agility has proven invaluable in rapidly urbanizing cities, where populations are constantly on the move, and transportation needs can change almost overnight.

Data-Driven Insights: Understanding the Dynamics of Informal Transport

However, this very flexibility and lack of centralized control also present challenges in understanding and integrating informal transport networks into broader urban mobility strategies. Traditional data collection methods struggle to capture the dynamic and often unpredictable nature of these systems, leaving urban planners and policymakers with incomplete and outdated information.

The Role of Technology

This is where data-driven approaches come into play. Transportation engineers and researchers, using new technologies such as GPS tracking, remote sensing, and advanced analytics, can shed light on the workings of informal transport networks, mobility patterns, demand hotspots, and potential areas for improvement. Leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones and mobile applications to crowdsource data from informal transport users and operators (Huang et al., 2019), combined with remote sensing technologies, offers powerful tools for monitoring and analyzing informal transport networks.

Harnessing Data for Transformation: Towards Sustainable Urban Mobility

Realizing the full potential of these informal transport networks requires sophisticated data analysis and modeling techniques that can reveal the complex interactions and interdependencies within these dynamic systems. Machine learning algorithms and agent based simulations enable researchers to model the emergent behaviors and decision-making processes, informing more effective urban mobility policies and infrastructure investments. As we continue to explore the intersection of data, technology, and informal transport, it becomes clear that these often-overlooked mobility networks hold immense potential for creating more inclusive, sustainable, and efficient urban transportation systems.

Conclusion

Informal transport networks, very common in African cities, play a vital role in urban mobility, yet remain largely invisible to planners. Their flexibility addresses underserved areas but poses integration challenges. Innovative data analytics offer insights into these networks, aiding policymaking. Leveraging technology can enhance informal transport, contributing to inclusive, sustainable urban mobility. As we explore the intersection of data, technology, and informal transport, we begin to understand the immense potential for transformative urban transportation systems that prioritize inclusivity and sustainability, ensuring a brighter future for cities across the continent and beyond.