Paratransit Professionalization: The South African Experience

The Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP), World Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Digital Transport for Africa (DT4A) initiative, French Development Agency (AFD), Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), Global Network for Popular Transportation (GNPT), and Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) joined forces to organize a “Paratransit Day” taking place on the sidelines of Transforming Transportation 2023. Happening on Thursday, March 16, 2023, the side event was dedicated to sharing knowledge and initiatives around paratransit improvement. “Paratransit Day” was structured around three sessions: (i) Data, Digitalization and Public Transport: Insights from Africa; (ii) Paratransit Professionalization: The South African Experience; and (iii) Reimagining the Techno-Social Infrastructure for Collecting Data in LMICs. This video captures the proceedings of the second SSATP-WB led session on "Paratransit Professionalization: The South African Experience." The objectives of this session were to: Understand the preconditions to the implementation of reforms. Present an ongoing paratransit corporatization project to illustrate the approach and the technical, financial, and organizational implications of this process. Discuss the limitations and replicability of this pilot project for other cities on the African the continent and beyond.