Cashless Fare Collection in Sub-Saharan African Paratransit: A Review of Experiences

Abstract

Paratransit services in Sub-Saharan Africa have developed a reputation for poor service quality. Several reforms have been initiated to improve or formalize the sector. Notable amongst these are transitions from cash to cashless forms of fare collection, which have been largely unsuccessful to date. Drawing from academic literature and media reports, this paper reviews 24 such cashless fare collection initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa. The scope of the initiatives identified span both public transport and for-hire paratransit services. An identification of the stakeholders in each case, and (where applicable) an assessment of the problems encountered, supported a starting proposition that the paratransit sector is a complex multi-stakeholder environment, with multiple interests that are sometimes conflicting, and that a failure to engage and address the interests of all stakeholders satisfactorily is the main cause of initiatives failing to endure. The problems encountered in minibus paratransit cashless fare collection initiatives, however, were not observed in motorcycle paratransit initiatives. The reasons cashless fare collection has been more successful amongst for-hire motorcycle-taxi services requires further research, as does the forms of cashless fare collection that satisfy the interests of all minibus paratransit stakeholder groups.