5 February, 2014
In 2010, Africa’s urban population was 36%, by 2030, that share is projected to increase to 50%. By 2050, 60% of people in Africa will live in cities. More than any region in the world, Africa has experienced a soaring urban growth rate over the past two decades – nearly 3.5% per year – and projections expect this rate to continue for decades to come. Unfortunately, this rapid urban expansion has not been coupled with improvements to cities’ services and infrastructure- especially in transit. Thus far, most of the continent’s transportation-related investment has gone toward road construction, despite the fact that the vast majority of Africans do not own cars. Instead, most Africans must rely on inconsistent, informal and unreliable modes of public transport. This lack of investment in mobility services has hampered equitable growth and resulted in an increase in personal motor vehicles resulting in chaos and congestion and increased urban inequality.
ITDP’s work has expanded across the African continent, assisting governments with the implementation of high-quality bus rapid transit- BRT, bike networks and pedestrian projects. ITDP played a pivotal role in the implementation of Johannesburg’s silver-standard Rea Vaya BRT corridors and in Cape Town’s bronze-standard MyCiTi BRT and continues to support the expansion of both systems. ITDP was also instrumental in starting and supporting the development of Dar es Salaam’s BRT which is East Africa’s first BRT. Other projects include implementing Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) policies in Nigeria and Zambia. ITDP is also actively involved in BRT planning in Nairobi, Kigali, Addis Ababa, Cairo and Kampala, assisting with the service planning, infrastructure review, business structure and the industry transition strategies.
