RURAL TRANSPORT Rural road transport Africa Personal motorised

RURAL TRANSPORT

Rural road transport: Africa § § § § Personal motorised transport widespread in Asia; rare in African countries have to rely on inappropriate vehicles for rural roads; Asia has many ingenious adaptations to lcoal transport needs Africa: goods and passenger transport by pickups or medium trucks, often imported when already decrepit Large trucks are dangerous, unreliable, and hard on rural roads, also not always suited to small loads and dispersed clientele Buses and cars cannot be operated economically on low-volume roads: Transport regulation impossible as services are only profitable when service quality, including safety in minimal: in any case enforcement means usually harassment. No obvious solution: cost of service by vehicles meeting typical safety and condition regulations would be greater than the capacity to pay;

Rural transport: Asia Much more use of small IMT, adapted from motorcycles, or built locally using parts from scrapped vehicles; § Small loads, low capital cost, using simple diesel engines, or electric motors in cities, well adapted to moving people and goods over short distances on bad roads; § Great for Africa, but could they compete with cheap imported secondhand trucks and the knowledge base that keeps them running? §

Rural transport: conclusions Roads exist to be used: benefits maximised by promoting development and use of vehicles suitable for transport needs and simple roads § Local innovation in means of transport should be encouraged: it promotes mobility and develops local enterprises to make and maintain them § At least, policies that hinder it should be changed § Reliance on old conventional vehicles not sustainable: use of IMT should be promoted §

References: rural road transport Introduction to IMT § Rural passenger transport § Rural transport services § Intermediate means of transport §