Cape Town Public Transport Experts Share Their Experience with Kampala Delegation
During the week of 7 – 11 December 2020 Cape Town based Public Transport specialists Organisation Development Africa (ODA) and their Swiss partners Transitec hosted a delegation of government officials from the Ugandan Ministry of Works and Transport, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the six main minibus taxi associations in Kampala.
The study tour is part of an Agence Française de Développement (AFD) funded project aimed at improving public transport in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area in Uganda.
Delegation host, Nico McLachan of ODA, explains that public transport operators and government officials in positions of influence in African cities have woken up to the reality that the past decade has produced valuable learning experiences on the African continent where a number of cities have taken both conventional and somewhat more innovative approaches to improving public transport systems against the backdrop of rapid and continuing levels of urbanisation.
Cape Town as a leading city in this arena offers other cities on the African continent a diverse learning experience ranging from the operation and management of the highly functional MyCiTi IRT system, to the provisioning of a world-class scheduled bus service along with the presence of a highly efficient and innovative minibus taxi industry. The planning, regulatory and contracting environment in Cape Town also provides valuable comparative learning to national and city governments on the African continent.
The public transport research, teaching, advisory and practitioner community in Cape Town has established itself as one the most powerful eco-systems on the continent, providing thought leadership and knowledge sharing.
Nico McLachlan, paratransit industry expert
As an example of the functioning of this eco-system the Kampala delegation was exposed to field visits, work sessions and learning exchanges involving senior officials from the City of Cape Town Department of Transport, the top management team of Golden Arrow Bus Services, the leadership of SANTACO Western Cape as well as minibus taxi industry executives who have successfully implemented business improvement processes. Professor Roger Behrens and Dr. Herrie Schalekamp of the UCT Centre for Transport facilitated the final day of the study tour and provided the group with insight into research findings on lessons learnt by African cities over the past decade.
The Kampala delegation left Cape Town with new found energy for the task ahead and a growing consensus about what to do and where to start.
A special thank you to Agence Française de Développement, Transitec, ODA staff, the CEO and senior management of Golden Arrow Bus Services, the Chair of SANTACO Western Cape Mr Nazeem Abdurahman , The Executive Director Transport City of Cape Town, Head of the UCT Centre for Transport Studies, the Executive of the 7th Avenue & Districts Minibus Taxi Association.
