Regional Exchange Project, Amman-Beirut- Cairo: Public Transport in MENA
Data
Urban Mobility
Access to Knowledge
Urban development
Infrastructures
Created At : 2018-07-02 16:48:51
Event Date : 2017-10-01
Event Source : https://www.tumblr.com/reblog/166320057624/7T4i5P90
On October 1st and 2nd, the Access to Knowledge for Development Centre (A2K4D), in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) co-hosted the “Regional Exchange Project: Public Transport in MENA”, bringing together public transport initiatives from Amman, Beirut, and Cairo. The two-day conference took place at the American University in Cairo’s Downtown Tahrir Campus, bringing together transportation experts and researchers from civil society organizations, urban planning initiatives, and academic institutions. The aim of the conference was to encourage initiatives working on sustainable public transportation in the region, expand networks of support, and exchange local and regional experiences between the different stakeholders. As the field of urban mobility and transport is a vast and multilayered one, the conference selected a particular focus on urban public transportation issues, especially those that face cities’ growing demand for socially inclusive public transportation systems. Dr. Ahmed Mosa, a managing partner from MASARAT for Transportation Consultancy, presented on the over-all challenges and opportunities of urban mobility policies in Cairo. His main message was that mobility planning in Cairo needs to meet the needs of users while also integrating the needs of different operators and providers. For Dr. Mosa, the solutions lie in a multi-stakeholder approach whereby a shift towards a network approach rather than a hierarchical approach to transportation planning, needs to be adopted as a practice in a complex city like Cairo. Transport for Cairo (TfC), one of the initiatives represented at the conference, presented their newly developed Index of Adequate Mobility, mapping the parameters of affordability, availability, accessibility, safety, and sustainability for public transport users in Cairo. Through the use of technological tools and working with the public sector, TfC was able to undertake spatial and temporal mapping of informal modes of public transport, with the aim of creating usable and shareable maps of an integrated transportation in Cairo, encompassing informal transportation (such as microbuses) as a main- and much needed- addition.