Cape Town - Exploring all things transport was the focus this week of the inaugural African Transport Research Conference (ATR-2024) hosted in Cape Town.
Around 200 researchers from across Africa and the globe gathered from Tuesday until today to advance transport research and solutions for the continent.
Co-organised by the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), 150 research papers were presented over 30 academic sessions during the conference.
A UCT PhD student in Transport Studies, Sharifa Nalubega, presented her research, exploring “the potential for carpooling and accompanying reductions in congestion levels”, with her case study focusing on Cape Town.
The study found that 2.8% of the total number of trips on all the roads leading to the Cape Town CBD could be potential carpoolers for work-related trips.
“The benefits of carpooling are to reduce traffic congestion on the roads, and this is Cape Town, it has invested a lot in public transport system, the MyCiTi BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system is up and running but still there is traffic congestion on the roads, so it’s all about the number of private car captives. So my research is about initiatives to reduce the number of private car owners on the roads.”
The study did not consider lift clubs that might be active at that moment but rather focused on reducing the number of private car owners on the road network through carpooling/ ridesharing.
Sanral chairperson at UCT, Professor Mark Zuidgeest, said Africa was urbanising rapidly, raising infrastructural and transport challenges.
“These challenging conditions also provide transport professionals with a wealth of interesting and relevant opportunities to advance transport research and solutions for Africa and beyond.
“We are excited to bring them together at the Graduate School of Business Academic Conference Centre,” Zuidgeest said.
Meanwhile, UN-Habitat will convene a group of city officials from Africa and the Middle East for an experiential programme across Cape Town.
Participants are from member cities of the Global Alliance of Cities for Road Safety (ACRoS) and were directly involved in road safety efforts in their countries.
During this, they will walk the City centre, cycle in Khayelitsha, and hear about City and provincial efforts to address road safety as well as their experiences and objectives.
The event is co-hosted by the City with the Urban Mobility team leading some of the activities.
Today and tomorrow, the Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility will take place at Sky Hotel, Protea Breakwater Hotel, and in the streets of Cape Town.