Abstract:
Information is emerging as one of the key dimensions of mobility, and as an important
lever through which sustainable access can be promoted in Sub-Saharan African (SSA)
cities. Information acts as an enabler of transport, by allowing travellers to make informed
decisions on whether, when, and how they travel. The lack of information can also act as a
barrier to accessing desired services, with consequences for the attainment of equity and
human development goals. Little is known about what information passengers need and
how they find and use information. This paper reports on a qualitative mixed-methods
study to explore information behaviour amongst informal transport passengers in
Tshwane, South Africa. We use the theory and methods of information science (with
information behaviour as a subdiscipline) to provide a lens for the investigation. We
collected mobility data through travel diaries, user-submitted photos of the travel context
and voice messages to explain these, and in-depth individual interviews combined with
drawings of situations where respondents used information and its sources (called
information horizon mappings). The drawings and interviews revealed the information-poor
environment within which informal transport operates, and the strong reliance on other
people as well as tacit embedded knowledge for gaining access to information. The paper
concludes by offering directions for further research around digital information.
