Conventional transport research has failed to consider how people’s mobility needs are affected by the manner in which they support themselves through employment and other activities. Research on the Sustainable Livelihoods, Access and Mobility (SLAM) approach has offered new insights on how access to transport services enhances livelihood options available to the poor, and its importance to both economic and non-economic activities.

Coordinated by the Transport Research Laboratory, the research sought to expand the narrow notion of accessibility from simply being the ease with which one reaches a desired location. Researchers asked Ugandans and Zimbabweans about their mobility and accessibility needs. They found that patterns are highly differentiated according to levels of income and the size and type of settlement in which they reside. Accessibility for the poor appeared least problematic in small cities and urban peripheries. Villages on the other hand are highly under-serviced. Although large cities have better transport infrastructure, the poor residing in them do not have the purchasing power to access it.

Over their lifetimes, people move around a lot. Only eighteen per cent of sample household heads in Uganda and twenty-four per cent in Zimbabwe were born in the location where they currently live. Many households have members living and working elsewhere. The majority of long distance trips are made for visiting relations in one’s home area. Trips are often made to attend funerals, weddings and rituals. The majority of daily trips are made for employment purposes, both formal and informal. People’s mobility is also directed at accessing social services. Walking dominates short-distance travel, especially in villages and amongst the poor.

Other key findings are that:

• Mini-buses represent only fourteen per cent and official buses just one per cent of total vehicles in Uganda. Instead, the widespread availability of bicycle taxis provides an affordable and convenient mode of transportation for middle-income groups.
• The 200 000 bicycles and 70 000 motorbikes used to provide commercial transport to Ugandans are a major feature of Uganda’s economy and public transport system. Through their hire and repair, they are a major source of urban employment for the poor.
• Forty-seven per cent of transportation in Zimbabwe is non-motorised (walking and cycling), registering an increase since bus fares started rising as a result of fuel prices and inflation.
• Private motor transport services are often unregulated and hazardous. There is widespread disregard for safety issues, driver training and environmental standards. They cause major congestion, pollution and numerous accidents but nonetheless are valued for the better mobility and accessibility they offer.

The researchers suggest that policy-makers should:

• regulate transport operator associations to prevent price fixing collusion, reduce costs for passengers and make journeys safer and more comfortable
• crack down on congestion caused by private car usage in cities through parking fees and making available ‘Park-and- Ride’ schemes in order that high-income car users drive their cars to a designated transit area and complete their journey in public transport
• develop the public transport sector, to boost mobility and absorb labour, especially in urban areas
• promote non-motorised transport infrastructure for the poor by providing walking and cycle paths along main roads, tax relief on the purchase of bicycles and through public information campaigns

Poor people require access to services, jobs and social networks in order to maximise their assets and their livelihood capabilities. Their relative immobility constrains this access, while poor planning forces them to travel excessive distances, often on foot or by bicycle, on a daily basis. In order to improve the situation, far-sighted planning of residential, commercial, newly urbanising and market locations will be necessary.

Source(s):
‘Sustainable livelihoods, mobility and access needs’ by Deborah Bryceson, Dave Maunder, T C Mbara, R Kibombo, A S C Davis and John Howe, TRL Report 544, TRL Limited, 2003 Full document.

Funded by: DFID R7784 (IUDD)

id21 Research Highlight: 27 May 2004

Further Information:
Deborah Bryceson
African Studies Centre
University of Leiden
PO Box 9555
2300 Leiden
The Netherlands

Tel: 44 (0)1865 292801
Contact the contributor: dfbryceson@bryceson.net

African Studies Centre, University of Leiden, The Netherlands

Dave Maunder
TRL Limited
Crowthorne House
Nine Mile Ride
Wokingham
Berkshire
RG40 3GA
UK

Tel: 44 (0) 1344 770398
Fax: 44 (0) 1344 770354/6
Contact the contributor: Dmaunder@trl.co.uk

TRL (Transport Research Laboratory), UK

Other related links:
'Creating rural transport: lessons from a failed road project in South Africa'

'Recapturing the streets: a vision of equitable and sustainable urban transport'

Infrastructure Connect

International Forum for Rural Transport and Development