Publication: Myths and Realities of Informal Public Transport in Developing Countries: Approaches for Improving the Sector - Discussion Paper
Date
2021-12-01
ISSN
Published
2021-12-01
Author(s)
Kumar, Ajay
Zimmerman, Sam
Arroyo Arroyo, Fatima
SSATP
Abstract
It is often said that transport is
the one economic sector that can degrade as incomes
increase. The degradation is manifested in increasing
congestion, pollution, accidents, and other traffic related
maladies. One view is that the root of the problem lies in
rising incomes that lead to even faster-rising motorization.
Another assessment sees a motorization-induced decline of
“formal” publictransport systems and the rise of “informal”
services as key issues, but it is unclear whether the rise
of the informal sector is the result of transport system
degradation or the cause. 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 thepaper 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 sothat 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. Subsequent work will examine in more detail
what an improved public transport system would look like and
how it can be achieved. This paper also focuses on all
aspects of so-called “minibus-taxis,” the oldest and most
prevalent informal sector mode in Africa, Latin America, and
Asia. This mode goes by different names in different places;
however, the many causes of its rise and the impacts of the
rise are common throughout the developing world. Relatively
new informal public transport operations using three-wheeled
shared ride vehicles (e.g., “Tempos” in India) and
motorcycle taxis (e.g., “Xiom” in Vietnam) have arisen as
minibus taxis with similar operating and business models.
Citation
“Kumar, Ajay; Zimmerman, Sam; Arroyo Arroyo, Fatima; SSATP. 2021. Myths and Realities of Informal Public Transport in Developing Countries: Approaches for Improving the Sector - Discussion Paper. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37083 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”