DT4A at Paratransit/Popular Transportation Day: A Transforming Transportation 2024 Side Event

On the sidelines of Transforming Transportation 2024, the Africa Transport Program (SSATP), Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia’s Climate School (CSUD), Climate Champions, Digital Transportation for Africa (DT4A), Global Network for Popular Transportation (GNPT), International Transport Forum (ITF), International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF), RMI, Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC), Volvo Educational and Research Foundations (VREF), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the World Bank, and WRI’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities – joined forces to organize a “Paratransit/Popular Transportation Day” on March 21st, 2024. This event aimed to explore the vital role of privately provided, publicly serving local transportation systems in decarbonizing transportation and achieving a Just Transition.

During the event, Mohamed Hegazy, Director and Co-founder of Transport for Cairo (TfC) and Tolga İmamoğlu, Senior Manager at WRI Türkiye, presented insights on “Advancing Emissions and Non-Motorized Transport Data Collection in Zambia.” They discussed the Deep Dive on Lusaka project, highlighting how high-resolution data can address collective action problems related to popular transport, safety and accessibility on NMT, sustainable development, emissions mitigation, and climate adaptation.

Key breakthroughs emphasized technological advancements in surveys, service mapping, emissions data collection, passenger demographics analysis, and stakeholder consultations. Finance, policy, and climate action breakthroughs were also discussed, emphasizing the integration of local data, national targets, international finance, and policies. Lessons learned included the importance of stakeholder involvement from project inception, challenges related to project ownership faced by African cities, limited implementation of solutions, and the need for adequate financial resources and dedicated city-level working groups.

This event underscored the necessity of finance, fleet renewal, data and technology, and research in advancing Paratransit/Popular Transportation. Our commitment to finding innovative solutions for sustainable urban mobility in these often-overlooked transport modes remains steadfast.