Data needed to decarbonize paratransit in Sub-Saharan Africa

Collett, Katherine A.; Hirmer, Stephanie

doi:10.1038/s41893-021-00721-7

Cited by 36 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…this investment is hindered in part by the inability to accurately forecast the likely EV demand for electricity, resulting in uncertain returns on investment. "- Collett and Hirmer (2021) in Nature Sustainability Paratransit plays a vital role as the primary form of transport in sub-Saharan Africa's public transit system. It transports more than 70% of the daily commuters and is a source of livelihood for many families (Behrens et al, 2015).…”

Section: Shifting To Evs [Electric Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paratransit in the region takes various forms, such as minibus taxis, motorcycle taxis and bicycle taxis (Ehebrecht et al, 2018), with minibus taxis carrying the largest daily share of passengers (Behrens et al, 2017). Powered by internal combustion engines, the taxis contribute greatly to the emission of greenhouse gases and a general decline of air quality in African cities (Collett and Hirmer, 2021).…”

Section: Shifting To Evs [Electric Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the environmental cost of running these old internal combustion engine vehicles is worrying. It has triggered discussions about the possibility of transitioning to electric minibus taxis as part of the global electrification and sustainability agenda (Collett and Hirmer, 2021).…”

Section: Perspectives On Sub-saharan Africa's Paratransitmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the sparseness of the work, it is clear that we lack information on the mobility of minibus taxis in sub-Saharan Africa and specifically the requirements of these minibus taxi fleets if they are converted to electric vehicles (Collett and Hirmer, 2021).…”

Section: Overview Of Earlier Studies and Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Walking on sunshine: Pairing electric vehicles with solar energy for sustainable informal public transport in Uganda

Booysen¹,

Abraham²,

Rix³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Minibus taxi public transport is a seemingly chaotic phenomenon in the developing cities of the Global South with unique mobility and operational characteristics. Eventually this wide-spread fleet of minibus taxis will have to transition to electric vehicles. This paper examines the impact of this inevitable evolution on a city-wide scale in Kampala, Uganda. We present a generic simulation environment to assess the grid impact and charging opportunities, given the unique paratransit mobility patterns. We used floating car data to assess the energy requirements of electric minibus taxis, which will have a knock-on effect on the region's already fragile electrical grid. We used spatio-temporal and solar photovoltaic analyses to assess the informal and formal stops that would be needed for the taxis to recharge from solar PV in the region's abundant sunshine. The results showed energy demand from a median of 224 kWh/day to a maximum of 491 kWh/day, with a median charging potential (stationary time) across taxis of 8 h/day to 12 h/day. The potential for charging from solar PV was 0.24 kWh/m^2 to 0.52 kWh/m^2. Our simulator and results will allow traffic planners and grid operators to assess and plan for looming electric vehicle roll-outs to the most-used mode of transport in Africa.

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Section: Shifting To Evs [Electric Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shifting To Evs [Electric Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perspectives On Sub-saharan Africa's Paratransitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Earlier Studies and Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Walking on sunshine: Pairing electric vehicles with solar energy for sustainable informal public transport in Uganda

Booysen¹,

Abraham²,

Rix³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Paratransit in the region takes various forms, such as minibus taxis, motorcycle taxis and bicycle taxis (Ehebrecht et al, 2018), with minibus taxis carrying the largest daily share of passengers (Behrens et al, 2017). Powered by internal combustion engines, the taxis contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases and a general decline of air quality in African cities (Collett and Hirmer, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ray of hope for sub-Saharan Africa's paratransit: solar charging of urban electric minibus taxis in South Africa

Abraham¹,

Rix²,

Ndibatya³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Minibus taxi public transport is a seemingly chaotic phenomenon in the developing cities of the Global South with unique mobility and operational characteristics. Eventually this ubiquitous fleet of minibus taxis will have to transition to electric vehicles. This paper examines the impact of this inevitable evolution. We present a generic simulation environment to assess the grid impact and charging opportunities, given the unique paratransit mobility patterns. We used floating car data to assess the energy requirements of electric minibus taxis, which will have a knock-on effect on Africa's already fragile electrical grids. We used spatio-temporal and solar photovoltaic analyses to assess the informal and formal stops that would be needed for the taxis to recharge from solar PV in the region's abundant sunshine. The results showed energy demand from a median of 215 kWh/day to a maximum of 490 kWh/day, with a median charging potential (stationary time) across taxis of 7.7 h/day to 10.6 h/day. The potential for charging from solar PV was 0.38 kWh/m2 to 0.90 kWh/m2. Our simulator and results will allow traffic planners and grid operators to assess and plan for looming electric vehicle roll-outs, and could lead to a new funding model for transport in Africa.

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ICTs, Digital Platform Mobility Services, and Transport Decarbonisation in African Cities: An Introduction

Acheampong

2022

The Urban Book Series

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Data needed to decarbonize paratransit in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

Walking on sunshine: Pairing electric vehicles with solar energy for sustainable informal public transport in Uganda

Walking on sunshine: Pairing electric vehicles with solar energy for sustainable informal public transport in Uganda

Ray of hope for sub-Saharan Africa's paratransit: solar charging of urban electric minibus taxis in South Africa

ICTs, Digital Platform Mobility Services, and Transport Decarbonisation in African Cities: An Introduction

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