Contents
1. Rising transport emissions generated by a growing economy
2. Flaws in the urban transport system
- Urban transport dominated by the informal sector
- Significant negative externalities of informal transport
- Considerable traffic involving private sector
3. Changes underway in the urban transport sector
- Regulator and financial tools
- Development of mass urban transportation
- Emergence of less-polluting energy solutions
4. Action by local authorities and civil society organizations
Key Takeaways
• Côte d’Ivoire’s breakneck growth since 2012 has boosted the ownership of private cars more than the development of public transport.
• Adverse traffic conditions in Abidjan penalize official operators, which are losing market shares. Informal transport solutions like wôrôs-wôrôs and gbâkâs are more flexible and better matched to meet the growing demand for mobility generated by urbanization, despite being involved in more road accidents.
• The Ivoirian government has adopted ambitious urban mobility planning tools and a policy regulating the age of imported second-hand vehicles as a response to the country’s fleet of outdated, polluting vehicles.
• While 40% to 60% of journeys are still made by foot in built-up areas like Abidjan, the increased levels of motorization make the development of mass transport lines like the East-West BRT and line 1 of the Abidjan subway the most effective option to organize transport development.
• NGOs and Ivoirian activists are at the forefront of the soft mobility movement, calling for the development of underused transport options, like cycling.