URBAN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC POLICY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: TOWARDS IMPROVING MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY (EGYPT, COTE D\u27IVOIRE, KENYA, NIGERIA, SENEGAL, ZIMBABWE)

Cities in developing countries suffer from inadequate passenger transport conditions. Consequently, they are forced to function very inefficiently, due to lack of satisfactory means of internal circulation. In order to enable these cities function at an optimal level, therefore, it is necessary to explore ways of improving mobility and accessibility. Urban transport conditions in six African cities--Cairo, Lagos, Abidjan, Dakar, Nairobi and Harare are examined. The analysis focuses on three major parameters--the operating environment, the transport system and the decision-making mechanism--in order to ascertain the problems of urban transport. The operating environment is regarded to consist of the economic base and urbanization characteristics. The economic base is analyzed in terms of the composition of the GNP, the structure of the economy and the pattern of income distribution. Urbanization is analyzed in terms of level of urbanization, rate of growth, pattern of land use, population density and household size. The transport system is analyzed in terms of infrastructure and travel demand, and technology and operations. First, the nature of transport infrastructure and the level of service it provides; the relationship between travel demand characteristics and modal split are classified, organizational patterns are analyzed and the operational characteristics are evaluated with respect to system characteristics. The decision-making mechanism is analyzed in terms of the nature of urban policy; classification of institutions, instruments influencing urban transport and the relationship between decision-making institutions and their external environment. The resulting problems and deficiencies of urban transportation are analyzed and the possible technical, organizational and public policy solutions are evaluated. The major results are that the operating environment is characterized by a very weak economic base and a rapidly growing urban centres, thus making the environment a very complex and unstable. Infrastructure is largely undersupplied and transit modes are not properly allocated to their domains. The decision-making institutions are not structured to fit the nature of the environment in which they operate. Improvement in mobility and accessibility in cities of developing countries require--the restructuring of the decision-making mechanism to fit their environments; a better understanding of transit technology and the service characteristics of the different modes; and how the modes ought to be used to enhance urban development