Minibuses play a central role in most African countries, hence it was important to discuss the conditions for electrifying minibus services at the Regional Exchange on Minibus Electrification. With unique challenges and experiences, proposals and questions were vividly discussed, exploring both the challenges and opportunities of electrifying the minibus sector. With strategic priorities and policies to promote electric mobility, privatisation makes it difficult to set standards or regulations in terms of sustainability. This is compounded by the need to invest in infrastructure to truly decarbonise e-mobility and provide clean and reliable energy.
The regional event in Kigali, Rwanda, took place from 11-13 June, and brought together decision makers from government agencies, researchers, scientists from academic institutions in the region and experts to discuss how to work together to modernise the minibus sector across the African continent. Representatives from 10 African countries shared their perspectives and engaged in the discussion on sustainable transport. The perspectives discussed from the different countries will be taken up again during the virtual Transport and Climate Change Week from 4-8 November 2024, where we aim to connect the regional dots to foster global transport climate action.
It’s important to realise that just electrifying the paratransit sector is not necessarily the same as decarbonising it […] any transition towards vehicles that are electric needs to be matched with provision of clean energy […] in many African countries the grids are frail, the infrastructure is old, and we can’t really rely on it to provide mobility services.
Thinus Booysen, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Peer exchange, academic input and group work made the exchange successful and already showed the importance of “Connecting the Dots”. The announcement of this year’s Transport Week in Africa in the context of this exchange served as a benchmark and inspiration for the preparation of the 7th edition of the Transport Week, to be held on 4-8 November.
Find out more about other regional perspectives:
We invite the transport community, political partners, and international organisations to join us on this transformative journey. If you want actively to contribute to a session, please contact Verena Knöll (verena.knoell@giz.de) or Ulricht Tokam (ulrich.tokam@giz.de), the Regional Buddies for Africa, prior to the end of August.
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The Mobilize Net-Zero project organised the regional exchange in cooperation with the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), the MobiliseYourCity Partnership and the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) with the support of TRANSITEC Consulting Engineers.
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