Description, Roles, and Functions of Paratransit

The Global South is urbanising fast.

In Africa for example, the continent’s urban population is set to double in the span of just 25 years. And with urbanisation, comes transport demand. Public transport enables citizens to access opportunities and earn a living. While bus rapid transit and high-capacity rail projects are being put forward, a significant amount of public transport journeys today across the Global South are covered by often small-scale and unregulated paratransit operators. In fact, paratransit accounts for around half of all public transport journeys in Africa and Latin America.

Indeed, paratransit holds an integral role in future mobility solutions in the Global South. But when paratransit varies so much from context to context, it makes it hard to take into account. This Policy Brief, Description, Roles, and Functions of Paratransit, provides a clearer picture of the paratransit sector by presenting the characteristics, roles, and functions of paratransit in the Global South mobility system. The paper looks at a way of describing the sector and its scale and highlights the functions that paratransit services can fulfil as a major mobility provider.

Discover paratransit!

• A brief overview of the paratransit sector
  • The many types and names of paratransit vehicles
  • How important is paratransit in the global south mobility system?
  • What is the environmental footprint of paratransit?
  • Roles and functions of paratransit services
• Good description leads to good recognition: an umbrella description of the sector
  • Paratransit: one word covering multiple realities
  • Other countries, other paths
  • Description of paratransit in the global south
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the paratransit sector?
• Planning transport with paratransit
  • Paratransit: a key player in integrated public transport networks
  • Challenges in engaging with the sector
• Recommendations

Discover paratransit!