Roadmap to Reform: Building Sustainable Transit for Africa’s Cities

This research paper examines urban transportation challenges in Africa, using South Africa as a primary case study to illustrate the impact of colonial and apartheid legacies on infrastructure. It evaluates the effectiveness of high-cost rail projects versus Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems and the role of informal paratransit, while proposing policy interventions to improve accessibility and safety.

• Colonial infrastructure in Africa was primarily designed for resource extraction, moving minerals from inland areas to coastal ports, rather than for general settlement. In South Africa, apartheid policies further degraded transportation by creating spatial segregation that pushed black, coloured, and Indian communities into townships far from city centres, resulting in "inefficient cities" with low-density sprawl and long commutes.
• South Africa's Gautrain Rapid Rail, costing approximately R30 billion ($4.1 billion USD), succeeded in reducing travel time between Johannesburg and Pretoria but failed to serve low-income populations and former black townships like Soweto due to high costs and limited lines.
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, such as Rea Vaya and Cape Town's MyCiTi, are presented as more inclusive and scalable alternatives to rail. While Rea Vaya connects marginalised residents in Soweto to Johannesburg's economic core, it has suffered from inefficiency and budgetary issues, including a case where a single portable toilet's cumulative rent reached R750 000 due to construction stagnation in Sandton.
• Informal "paratransit" systems, specifically minibuses in South Africa, account for about 65% of commuter trips. These systems lack fixed routes and regulation, leading to safety concerns, violence among operators, and high road fatalities. In Sub-Saharan Africa, road deaths in 2016 averaged 26.6 per 100 000 residents, which is 32% higher than the global average; in Addis Ababa, pedestrians accounted for 88% of road fatalities between 2010 and 2015.
• To reduce social exclusion in transportation, the document highlights recommendations from scholar Karen Lucas, which include regulating minibus taxi operations and fare structures, subsidising travel costs for these taxis, improving public bus services, enhancing policing at transport hubs, and providing affordable housing near employment centres.

APA

Arastu, Y. (2025). Roadmap to Reform: Building Sustainable Transit for Africa’s Cities. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/research/roadmap-to-reform-building-sustainable-transit-for-africas-cities/

Chicago

Arastu, Yahya. Roadmap to Reform: Building Sustainable Transit for Africa’s Cities. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/research/roadmap-to-reform-building-sustainable-transit-for-africas-cities/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Arastu |first1=Yahya |title=Roadmap to Reform: Building Sustainable Transit for Africa’s Cities |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=8 February 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/roadmap-to-reform-building-sustainable-transit-for-africas-cities/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{arastu2025roadmap, author = {Arastu, Yahya}, title = {{Roadmap to Reform: Building Sustainable Transit for Africa’s Cities}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/roadmap-to-reform-building-sustainable-transit-for-africas-cities/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }