Sub–Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program The World Bank and Economic Commission for Africa SSATP Working Paper No. 56 Local Transport Solutions People, Paradoxes and Progress Lessons Arising from the Spread of Intermediate Means of Transport Paul Starkey May 2001 Africa Region The World Bank S S AT P The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Rural Travel and Transport Program or the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program for whom the document was prepared. SSATP Working Paper No. 56 Local transport solutions People, paradoxes and progress Lessons arising from the spread of intermediate means of transport Paul Starkey Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) Africa Region The World Bank CONTENTS SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 5 TRANSPORT PROBLEMS AND THE RAISING OF AWARENESS .................................................................................. 5 AN ANALYTICAL PLANNING FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................... 7 SCOPE OF THIS PAPER .......................................................................................................................................... 7 PARADOXICAL ADOPTION PATTERNS....................................................................................................... 9 INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION PATTERNS OF TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGIES ............................................................... 9 WITHIN-COUNTRY ADOPTION PATTERNS ARE NOT UNIFORM ............................................................................. 10 EXPLICABLE PATTERNS AND `RANDOM’ OR `CHAOTIC’ ELEMENTS.................................................................... 11 KEY LESSONS ................................................................................................................................................... 13 DIVERSITY, COMPLEMENTARITY AND LEVELS OF USE ....................................................................................... 13 ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY AND PROFITABILITY ..................................................................................................... 17 USER PERSPECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................... 20 PROMOTION....................................................................................................................................................... 23 CREDIT AND SUBSIDIES...................................................................................................................................... 30 CRITICAL MASS ................................................................................................................................................. 31 GENDER............................................................................................................................................................. 35 PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ............................................................................................................................ 38 SAFETY, WELFARE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................ 39 REGULATION AND PROHIBITION ........................................................................................................................ 40 IMPLICATIONS AND WAYS TO MOVE FORWARD ................................................................................ 42 ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO TRANSPORT PROBLEMS ....................................................................................... 42 TECHNICAL CHOICES, DIVERSITY AND COMPLEMENTARITY .............................................................................. 42 MULTIPURPOSE DEVICES AND TRANSPORT SERVICES ........................................................................................ 45 COST AND AFFORDABILITY................................................................................................................................45 SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS....................................................................................... 47 CREDIT AND SUBSIDIES...................................................................................................................................... 48 CRITICAL MASS ................................................................................................................................................. 49 PROGRAMME FOCUS, PRIORITISATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION ISSUES ...................................................... 52 GENDER............................................................................................................................................................. 53 MONITORING AND EVALUATION........................................................................................................................ 53 NETWORKING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE ................................................................................................... 54 CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................................................................. 57 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 59 LIST OF BOXES BOX 1 WHAT ARE IMTS? ........................................................................................................................................................................VII BOX 2 WHEELBARROWS: SLOW EARLY DIFFUSION, MUCH SUBSEQUENT ADAPTATION ...................................................8 BOX 3 WOODEN SLEDGES: SIMPLE AND WIDESPREAD BUT PARADOXICAL DISTRIBUTION............................................10 BOX 4 SEED DISPERSAL ANALOGY: NATURAL CLUSTERS, NURTURING AND RANDOM SUCCESSES.............................12 BOX 5 EXAMPLES OF SCALE AND DIVERSITY OF INTERMEDIATE MEANS OF TRANSPORT.............................................13 BOX 6 ‘HAND TRUCKS’ IN GHANA: A LOCAL INNOVATION THAT SPREAD ‘SPONTANEOUSLY’ ......................................15 BOX 7 TRANSPORT COSTS: EFFECT OF DISTANCE AND DEMAND .............................................................................................16 BOX 8 INTERMEDIATE TRANSPORT IN GUINEA: INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE, TERRAIN AND FRONTIERS .....................17 BOX 9 PROFITABLE PACK DONKEYS IN MAKETE, TANZANIA ....................................................................................................18 BOX 10 OX CARTS IN ZAMBIA: INCREASING TRANSPORT SUPPLY, PRODUCTION AND DEMAND...................................20 BOX 11 POLICY-MAKERS’ ASSERTIONS, FARMERS’ VIEWPOINTS AND DIALOGUE IN MADAGASCAR..........................21 BOX 12 CYCLE TRAILERS FOR WOMEN IN GHANA: EARLY EUPHORIA—THEN DISAPPOINTMENT...............................23 BOX 13 “APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY” AND “FLINTSTONE” OX CARTS ................................................................................24 BOX 14 CYCLE TRAILERS IN SRI LANKA: PARTICIPATIVE PROCESSES BUT DISAPPOINTING ADOPTION...................25 BOX 15 ANIMAL-DRAWN CARTS IN MAURITANIA...........................................................................................................................27 BOX 16 INTRODUCING DONKEYS FOR PACKING AND CART TRANSPORT: SUCCESSES AND FAILURES .......................28 BOX 17 TRAINING ARTISANS TO MAKE TRANSPORT DEVICES: TRAINING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH................................30 BOX 18 CREDIT AFFECTING CHOICE OF CART PURCHASE IN GUINEA BISSAU ....................................................................31 BOX 19 CART AND CYCLE REPAIRS IN MADAGASCAR: IMPORTANCE OF A CRITICAL MASS..........................................32 BOX 20 OX CARTS IN SIERRA LEONE AND GUINEA: FAILURE TO ACHIEVE CRITICAL MASS ..........................................33 BOX 21 DONKEYS, HORSES, MULES AND ANIMAL-DRAWN CARTS IN ETHIOPIA..................................................................34 BOX 22 INAPPROPRIATE WHEELBARROWS FOR WOMEN IN MAKETE, TANZANIA .............................................................36 BOX 23 DONKEYS FOR TRANSPORT AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN TANZANIA...................................................................38 BOX 24 PROHIBITION OF TRICYCLE TAXIS IN INDONESIA ..........................................................................................................41 BOX 25 NON-TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS.................................................................................................................................................43 BOX 26 MULTIPURPOSE POWER TILLERS FOR TRANSPORT IN SRI LANKA AND CÔTE D’IVOIRE..................................44 BOX 27 MULTIPURPOSE OXEN AND COWS FOR TRANSPORT......................................................................................................46 BOX 28 EXTENDED BICYCLES IN SRI LANKA: NOT WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY?...............................................................47 BOX 29 ARTISANAL CART PRODUCTION AND MARKETING IN SHINYANGA, TANZANIA ...................................................48 BOX