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Small firms struggle to grow beyond a few employees. We introduce monitoring devices into commuter minibuses in Kenya and randomize which minibus owners have access to the data using a novel mobile app. We find that treated vehicle owners modify the terms of the contract to induce higher effort and lower risk taking from their drivers. This reduces firm costs and increases firm profitability. There is suggestive evidence that some firms expand. These results suggest that small firms may be able to utilize monitoring technologies to overcome problems of moral hazard and enhance their profitability. (JEL D22, D24, D82, J41, L25, L92, O14) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous on-demand services as part of public transport are discussed to improve public transport substantially. A household survey in Karlsruhe, Germany, was conducted among inhabitants of a residential area where a combined autonomous and on-demand minibus service with automation level 4 was offered. The study investigates the residents' appraisal of this service and reasons for using and not using it. Results indicate that people generally have a positive attitude towards it and are willing to use it in the future. Difficulties are found in travel speed, availability, and complexity of using such a new service. Favorable factors in the intention to use the service are having a mobility impairment, being open to other forms of new mobility, and not having a car in the household. In the future, to be successful, such services should improve travel times and reliability and address issues of their primary target group, such as the high complexity of accessing these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed radiation dose data to observe the annual decline in ambient radiation doses and assess the factors contributing to fluctuations in reconstructed areas of the Fukushima prefecture. Utilizing a novel mobile monitoring system installed on a community minibus, the study employed a cost-effective sensor, namely, Pocket Geiger which was integrated with a microcontroller and telecommunication system for data transfer, access, visualization, and accumulation. The study area included the region between Okuma and Tomioka towns. The ambient dose rate recorded along the minibus route was depicted on a map, averaged within a 1 × 1 km mesh created with the Quantum Geographic Information System. To ensure accuracy, the shielding factor of the minibus material is determined to adjust the dose readings. A significant decrease (p < 0.001) in the radiation dose ranges from 2022 to 2023 was observed. The land use classification by the Advanced Land Observation Satellite revealed an ecological half-life ranging from 2.41 years to 1 year, suggesting a rapid radiation decay across all land types. This underscores the close connection between radiation attenuation and environmental factors, as well as decontamination efforts across diverse land categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtransit is a shared mobility service that operates between fixed-route transit and ride-hailing. It operates with a fleet of vans or minibuses within a service zone that is usually located in a rural or suburban car-oriented area with a transport demand that is temporally and spatially dispersed. Microtransit often expects customers to walk a short distance to pick-up/drop-off (PUDO) locations. The PUDO points need to be quickly, easily, and safely reachable by pedestrians. Thus, PUDO locations must be chosen after analyzing the walkability of the suburban area served by microtransit. This paper presents a comparison of macroscale and microscale indicators to assess the walkability of suburban neighborhoods where microtransit has to be introduced. We chose three suburban neighborhoods (Partanna Mondello, Tommaso Natale, and Mondello) in Palermo, Italy, as a study area, aiming to identify the best places to locate PUDO stops for a microtransit service. A GIS database has been built associating each link with a series of qualitative and quantitative attributes. Finally, we developed a walkability index that indicates the attractiveness of specific locations in terms of intermodal walkability. We also identified the critical pedestrian links that need actions to improve their walkability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We designed and developed two new types of hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) buses (motorcoach and minibus) with a mobile laboratory system. Feasibility studies have been performed for mobile laboratory testing, particularly for the laboratory performance of COVID-19 RT-PCR (PCR). We evaluated the driving range capability, PCR sample size capacity, turnaround time (TAT), and analytical performance for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Saliva samples were used for the current study, and the analytical performance was compared with that of the reference PCR. The estimated driving range and sample size capacity of the HFC and HFC minibus were 432 km and 2847 samples, respectively, for the HFC motorcoach and 313 km and 1949 samples for the HFC minibus. For the TAT, the median time between sample submission and completion of PCR was 86 min for the motorcoach and 76 min for the minibus, and the median time between sample submission and electronic reporting of the result to each visitor was 182 min for the motorcoach and 194 min for the minibus. A secondary analysis of 1574 HFC mobile laboratory testing samples was conducted, and all negative samples were found to be negative by reference PCR. Furthermore, all samples were confirmed to be positive by reference PCR or other molecular examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nascent electrification of transport has heralded a new chapter in the driving force of mobility. Developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa already lag in this transformative transport transition. A potential transitional step towards full-scale electric mobility is the retrofitting of the existing fleet of internal combustion-based vehicles. This paper proposes a novel approach to the design of a retrofit electric drivetrain for an internal combustion engine vehicle. Specifically, a minibus taxi, which dominates the region's informal paratransit industry, is electrified. This retrofit is the first formal research presented with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa and its unique challenges. A generic methodology is presented to systematically specify and select drivetrain components and assess the suitability and characteristics of those components. Unique about the presented methodology is the application of driving-cycle data of internal combustion engine vehicles, which provides quantitative insights into the performance and characteristics of the selected components for a retrofit. Finally, a real-world use case is presented to provide a tangible example and to validate the feasibility of the presented approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning for the eventual electrification of transport in sub-Saharan Africa requires accurate simulation of its unique transport systems. The few studies that attempt to model electric minibus taxis—vehicles extensively used in sub-Saharan Africa's public transport systems—vary greatly in their results. This paper analyses, compares and corrects the only two existing studies that project energy consumption of electric minibus taxis in the region. One of the studies projected an energy consumption of 0.39 kWh/km, while the other projected 0.93 kWh/km. This paper carefully analyses the simulation tools and models and cumulatively applies corrections from the literature and scientific analyses. As a result, the discrepancy between the two simulation tools is eliminated for a given data input and a final energy consumption is estimated in the range of 0.49–0.52 kWh/km, depending on the input data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric buses running on city routes have different thermal conditions than long-distance intercity buses. The main difference is the frequent stops every 0.5-1 minutes and the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, which causes heat loss. On the other hand, such routes offer the possibility to recharge heating batteries with contactless or non-contact wireless charging systems during stops. In order not to reduce the driving distance of the bus by consuming energy from electric batteries for heating, one option is to use heating batteries. As the total duration of routes from one final destination to another varies from half an hour to an hour depending on the city, but the duration of parking at the end destination is 10-15 minutes, heating batteries must provide cabin heating for one full journey using fast charging while standing at the final stops. This is the main condition for choosing the energy capacity of heating batteries. In the research there was developed and in the article there is described a simulation model in MATLAB/Simulink, which allows modelling different heating power and temperature regimes by varying the bus cabin microclimate influencing factors, such as outside temperature, door opening duration, the heat emitted by passengers, etc. Recommendations are given for levelling the temperature in the cabin, which, according to the measurement data, is markedly uneven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of vehicle conditions is needed as one of the securities in driving because one of the accident rates is negligence in checking the condition of the vehicle. This study aims to help reduce the level of accidents and increase human awareness for vehicle conditions, especially minibus type vehicles. The system works to provide information on the condition of vehicles sourced from the Engine Control Unit (ECU). ECU data cars are obtained by SNIP traffic broadcast message and ask for data directly at the ECU. The car can provide vehicle information using a Canbus communication protocol through the OBD-II socket. Vehicle information can be seen by users through the website in real time. Based on the evaluation from the user side, this system provides ease of monitoring vehicle conditions because it can be accessed via the internet using various kinds of devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses urban taxi slogans and an interpretative approach to, and deep reading of, vehicle slogans in Lagos, Nigeria and highlights a fresh light onto the neglected linkages between texts, persons, and publics in urban Africa. Topics include a close analysis of the texts and contexts of danfos to see informal transport as simultaneously a place; a minibus taxi with the slogan "Thank you Jesus. Have you said it today?" in Lagos and a tricycle taxi with the slogan: "Punctuality is the soul of business,"; and how a danfo slogans signal a dominant "representational economy".

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in 2015, aspirations towards creating more inclusive and sustainable cities became global standards of urban development. This presents an almighty challenge for policymakers and urban planners, particularly in the rapidly developing cities of the global South, which have historically been known to possess higher levels of segregation and inequality. This article focuses on an analysis of patterns of accessibility, created through different systems of transport, in relation to potential opportunities they may provide for interaction between different social and racial urban population groups, using Cape Town in South Africa, as the primary case study. It examines the relationship between specific social and spatial variables and the geographic positioning of stops and stations of the public Railway, MyCiti Bus Rapid Transit systems and the paratransit, privately-owned Minibus Taxi system. A relational approach was required in order to address both the physical and social aspects of this paper, thus drawing on the discursive and analytical techniques offered by space syntax. The Minibus Taxi system, born out of the informal sector in South Africa, has widely been stigmatised as "chaotic" and "haphazard", however the empirical evidence shown by this analysis of accessibility, suggests that it possesses an inner spatial and social logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban mobility scenarios are constantly evolving, and today's solutions may not be adequate in the future. Through innovative analysis and design methods encapsulated by the IDeS methodology, it is possible to plausibly hypothesize a number of key scenarios to be analyzed, for which vehicles can be designed in order to solve the main problems. Scenarios such as the steady growth in public mobility, based on the sharing of electric mini-buses at the expense of the privatization of the means of transport, lead to the gradual rethinking of citizens' needs and the supporting infrastructure. Problems such as the lack of privacy of public vehicles, the efficiency of the infrastructure and recharging modes of e-buses, and autonomous driving are addressed here through methods such as QFD (quality function deployment) and SDE (stylistic design engineering), with the aim of outlining a proposal that, to date, is futuristic but is designed to be concrete and feasible within the next decade. These methodologies were applied to the design of a sustainable urban transport system consisting of an electric mini-bus, effected by rethinking the layout of the interior spaces in favor of areas enabling greater privacy and a mobile recharging system (MBS) capable of offering a new management strategy for the non-stop recharging phase. Through the use of an MBS, which functions as a mobile 'energy bank' module that is capable of autonomously reaching a mini-bus in need of recharging and extending its autonomy by connecting and recharging it, the proposed system can potentially be enabled to perform its required service during the day without any need to spend time making intermediate stops for the purpose of recharging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of acceleration during vehicle motion can be used to assess the driving styles and behaviours of drivers, to control vehicle traffic, to detect uncontrolled vehicle behaviour, and to prevent accidents. The measurement of acceleration during vehicle motion on an icy road can be used to warn the driver about changing conditions and the related hazards. This paper presents the results of testing the motion parameters of a Ford Transit adapted for passenger transport in critical traffic conditions. It can contribute to the improvement of road safety. Critical traffic conditions are deemed in the paper as sudden braking, rapid acceleration, and circular vehicle motion at maximum speed maintainable in the given conditions. The vehicle's acceleration and speed were measured during the tests. The tests were carried out with a TAA linear acceleration sensor and a Correvit S-350 Aqua optoelectronic sensor. The same test runs were conducted on a dry surface, a wet (after rain) surface and a surface covered with a thin, invisible ice layer. The objective of the tests was to determine the impact of invisible road icing, the so-called black ice, on the tested vehicle's braking, acceleration, and circular motion. It was demonstrated that a virtually invisible ice layer covering the road surface has a substantial impact on the tested vehicle's motion parameters, thereby affecting traffic safety. It substantially extends the braking and acceleration distances and requires the driver to reduce the vehicle's speed when performing circular motions. A clear wet surface, representing motion after rain, did not substantially affect the analysed parameters. The obtained results can be used in traffic simulations and to analyse the causes of accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transport service in Addis Ababa is provided by both public and private operators. However, the inability of the public sector to meet the increasing transport demand has given rise to the emergence of privately owned paratransit transport services. The minibus taxi sector is the dominant public transport mode which provides a means of mobility for the majority of the city's residents. However, the service provided by the sector is still far from being efficient and has a lot of operational constraints. But, various attempts have been made by the city's transport authority to improve service provision in the city. Thus, to carry out this study, both primary and secondary data were used. Instruments like questionnaires, interviews, as well as observation were intensively employed. Finally, the Arada sub-city was selected purposively to execute the study as it is the hub for 9 taxi terminals with 25 routes radiating into several directions of the city. A total of 50 minibus taxi drivers were selected using the convenience sampling method. Results of the study revealed that the presence of complex owner-driver relations, customary operational practices, and poor institutional organization of owners' associations as well as inefficient regulation creates unpleasant work situations and hence profoundly affected service delivery. In addition, the study found that all of these situations are threatening the sustainability of the sector as most vehicle owners have less interest in staying in the business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In selective formalization, different informalities are treated unequally. • Digital ambitions of Estonia provided welcoming conditions for ridehailing. • Ridehailing acceptance despite its illegality rests importantly on elite informality. • Frame analysis of governmental debates reveals dominant discursive structures. • Narratives of digital future can legitimize elite informality. The contribution of the paper to the geographical literatures on informalities is to expand the work on transport informalities from transport system reforms and professionalization of informal provisions such as minibus services or taxi provisions to ridehailing, including explicit discursive framings through which formalization operates. Ridehailing platforms have entered various cities around the world extra-legally, forcing public authorities to deal with them. While there is an emerging literature discussing various aspects of ridehailing and platform economies, the literature to date has not analyzed what kinds of discursive frames facilitate the legitimation of these businesses. Analyzing legitimation through frame analysis highlights the affective forcefulness of future visions configured around technology-oriented regulation, employment provision and digitalization. The article argues that the state acceptance of sharing platforms, together with the introduction of the legal framing for them, particularly gains strength from the frame promising digital future. In such policy-framing processes, sharing platforms' extra-legal entry into the market as a form of "elite informality" becomes accepted instead of being considered illegal. This paper analyzes verbatim reports of debates regarding ridehailing legalization held at the Estonian parliament (Riigikogu) in April and September 2016. These verbatim reports represent a key event and arguably the most public part of the trajectory from Uber entering Estonia extra-legally in May 2015 to Estonia introducing the "Uber law" legalizing ridehailing in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the deployment potential of automated minibuses (AmBs) on the first-mile part of public transport (PT) trips or short (sub)urban commutes by comparing "regular" (fixed route and fixed schedule) and "flexible" (door-to-door and on-demand) service types. For reaching that goal, we run a stated choice experiment in the Netherlands. The participants have assessed the referred two AmB alternatives compared to their current travel mode (car, PT, or active modes (AM) – bicycle and walking) used as the main mode for unimodal travellers or as access travel mode to transit lines for multimodal travellers. The results of a joint mixed logit model estimation based on data obtained from Dutch travellers show that there are similarities and differences in the preferences for the AmBs service type within and between the segments of travellers (car, PT, and AM) and that these are mostly in instrumental variables (cost and time) and attitudes. Current PT users prefer the flexible service to regular service based on their perception of in-vehicle travel time and waiting time, while current users of car and AM do not show a difference in preference between the two services concerning these variables. Moreover, their perception of in-vehicle travel time and waiting time is not significantly different from PT users' perception of those variables in the regular service. This may mean that for non-PT users (car and AM), AmB's flexibility of door-to-door transport is not seen as offering a significant advantage over what they think about public transport. When looking at the preferences of potential users explained by underlying psychological factors, we conclude that a positive attitude towards riding in AmBs is a significant factor in all three segments of travellers. Trust, usefulness, and enjoyment in using AmBs are important prerequisites for car and PT users to choose either service type. The experience with technology positively influences the preferences of current PT users for both AmB services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a data mining approach to discover hidden groups of crash-risk factors leading to each bus/minibus crash severity level on pothole-ridden/poor roads categorized under different lighting conditions namely daylight, night with streetlights turned on, and night with streetlights turned off/no streetlights. The bus/minibus data employed contained 2,832 crashes observed on poor roads between 2011 and 2015, with variables such as the weather, driver, vehicle, roadway, and temporal characteristics. The data was grouped into three based on lighting condition, and the association rule data mining approach was applied. Overall, most rules pointing to fatal crashes included the hit-pedestrian variable, and these crashes were more frequent on straight/flat roads at night. While median presence was highly associated with severe bus/minibus crashes on dark-and-unlighted roads, median absence was correlated with severe crashes on dark-but-lighted roads. On-street parking was identified as a leading contributor to property-damage-only crashes in daylight conditions. The study proposed relevant countermeasures to provide practical guidance to safety engineers regarding the mitigation of bus/minibus crashes in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper bridges the gap in criminological research on the impact of work systems and conditions on working-class drivers' commitment to road traffic laws in Africa. Drawing on interviews and focus group discussions with 'Tro-Tro' drivers in Ghana, the study shows that, while unquestionably concerning, transgressive driving behaviors (e.g. over-speeding, and dangerous overtaking) are necessary for minibus drivers to cope with the adversities structurally embedded in the power relations that surround, structure, and organize their work. This finding belies the long-standing media and policy narrative which attributes the transgressive behaviors to the drivers themselves (e.g. their unruliness and indiscipline). Approaching risky driving practices among minibus drivers against the backdrop of the power relations underlying the sociotechnical commercial passenger transport system in which they operate opens avenues for more effective countermeasures. The paper hopes to stimulate the further application of criminological theories to model and address road transport problems in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrification is expected to decarbonise transportation and forms part of the agenda to delay climate change. Electric vehicle sales have ballooned and production of combustion engines will stop soon. In sub-Saharan Africa the transition is slow. Minibus taxis carry more than 70% of commuters and little is known about their electrification requirements. Electrical demand planning is better with vehicle-based data than with passenger-based data. Stationary times provide ample time for taxis to recharge from the grid and solar, but the latter requires substantial stationary battery capacity to negate grid-impacting fast charging. Taxi energy requirements are approximately 200 kWh/day on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The path to electrification of the informal and organic transport sector – minibus taxis in South Africa's case – is fraught with challenges. These stem mainly from shorter ranges and slower re-energising of electric vehicles, compounded by their unscheduled nature and day-variant routing. However, the transformation also presents opportunities for improving infrastructure and vehicle utilisation. Planning for electrification becomes a complex spatio-temporal interdependence between mobility, infrastructure (civil and electrical), vehicle specifics, and driver behaviour. This paper evaluates two scenarios using mixed fleet analysis: (1) striving to achieve the same mobility patterns with equal-sized electric vehicles and (2) scheduling for passenger demand, which was extracted from existing mobility patterns. The paper's main contributions lie in a proposed method to bridge the gap between these two scenarios through trip extraction, as well as introducing the concept of mixed fleets as a way to achieve electrification in the paratransit industry. The results show that using passenger demand to place the charging infrastructure and schedule the vehicles and their charging, results in a reduced number of vehicles, a higher proportion of electric vehicles in the fleet, a reduced number of chargers required, a reduced grid impact, and only a fractional increase in total fleet distance covered. Consequently, we propose to leverage the transformational opportunity presented by electrification to structure sub-Saharan Africa's paratransit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing attention has been directed by South African commuter rights groups towards the incidence of sexual violence experienced by women when commuting in minibus taxis. Against this backdrop, data was collected through a series of unstructured individual interviews with 14 South African women. Putting to work the concept of affective atmosphere, findings revealed that the ways in which these women articulated the threat of sexual violence in minibus taxis was co-produced through shifting taxi↔commuters↔bodies assemblages which not only informed how the threat of sexual violence was experienced, but, also, how their own bodies, men's bodies, and everyday commuting were negotiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the effect of some traffic factors such as waiting time and traffic volume increasing on gap acceptance characteristics i.e., driver's behavior, limits of gap acceptance, critical gap, and the facility capacity. The current study depends on real field data collected at selected change direction U-turn within Najaf city highways network (center city of the Najaf governorate located approximately 160 km south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq). The study focused on the passenger cars and minibus drivers maneuvering at change direction U-turn opening as the primary case study. The statistical analysis approach depended on evaluating traffic factors selected as parameters and their degree of influence on U-turn capacity. The results of statistical analysis established that firstly, waiting time range between 21 - 30 sec, lead driver to enforce opposing direction traffic flow to accept gap size less than that when waiting time fall in the range of 11 to 20 sec at a confidence interval of 95% for a passenger car. While, minibus shows results higher than passenger car by approximately 20%. Secondly, there is a slightly different mean gap acceptance between an interval of (1- 10) and (11-20) sec) for both types of vehicles at the same confidence interval. On the other hand, results showed the studied U-turn change direction median critical gap equal to 3.75 sec. and follow-up time was 1.1 seconds. According to Siegloch's formula the maximum capacity of 3273 pcu/hr. Other results show that the highest wait time group interval (when taken as the mean value) is lower than the critical gap. The main recommendation obtained due to the hazard of studied change direction U-turn is the importance of control and management it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speeding is the most common road safety problem that results in many traffic accidents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Minibus taxis substantially contribute to speed-related road traffic crashes in Addis Ababa. This study aimed to investigate minibus taxi drivers' speeding behaviour using the 'major theorists' model, an integrated framework drawn from five dominant motivational models. Participants were 218 Ethiopian male minibus taxi drivers in Addis Ababa. The study followed a three-step sequential procedures: 1. Development of a new instrument addressing the assumptions of the 'major theorists' model, and validation using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). 2. Exploration of associations between variables in the 'major theorist' model using a Pearson's correlation analysis. 3. Identification of statistically significant predictors of self-reported speeding via linear multiple regression analyses. It was found that self-efficacy to drive fast, weak speed enforcement, social pressure from relatives to drive fast, and behavioural intention to drive fast were significant predictors of self-reported speeding behaviour. These findings can be applied in awareness rising interventions for taxi driver to improve their speed limit compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the rollover problem of minibus during driving, the parametric model and the vehicle reference model of minibus were established. According to the working principle of active suspension and the dynamic characteristics of differential braking, the anti-rollover control subsystems of active suspension and differential braking were respectively established to propose the integrated anti-rollover control strategy. Using the lateral load transfer rate as trigger condition, the active suspension control or the differential braking control was implemented according to the vehicle speed to reduce the vehicle yaw rate and the roll angle of vehicle for achieving the anti-rollover control. The co-simulation model of integrated control system was established in Matlab/Simulink and CarSim, and the integrated control strategy of anti-rollover was verified by the simulation test under two typical working conditions of hook test and angle step test. The results show that the integrated anti-rollover control system can effectively reduce the vehicle′s body roll angle, yaw rate and other parameters under extreme conditions, and the rollover stability of minibus can be improved to reduce the probability of rollover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, minibus taxis are a crucial mode of public transport for many commuters and a vital informal business sector with an estimated value of R90 billion. Concerns have been raised that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is not collecting the optimal amount of tax revenue from this industry, with estimated tax collection at only R5 million in 2021. As a result of concerns that this industry might be involved in tax evasion or massive tax avoidance, this study investigates the taxation of minibus taxis in South Africa and explores alternative tax regimes that could be implemented to improve revenue collection. The study compares the current South African turnover tax system for minibus taxi operators to other African tax systems and evaluates a viable alternative tax regime or tax collection system. To improve tax collection from the industry, South Africa could consider a tax system tailored to the industry’s informal nature, utilising metrics such as vehicle seating capacity or distance travelled. A standardised tax system for small, medium, and micro enterprises may not be suitable. Consultation with industry stakeholders is essential for the proposed tax system to be acceptable. The study’s findings could inform South Africa’s National Treasury in creating a tax structure or collection scheme targeting the minibus taxi industry. This could increase tax revenue collection from the industry and support government expenditure, including income and wealth redistribution. This study distinguishes itself from prior publications on the South African minibus taxi industry by addressing tax compliance and collection challenges. It offers recommendations for alternative tax regimes to mitigate these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern era, machinery designed to assist people should satisfy the requirements of all users, including people with disabilities. This study aims to design an ergonomic vehicle that is comfortable and safe for people with mobility needs (wheelchair-bound passengers) or visual impairment. First, we conducted a literature survey on the definitions of terms such as disability, ergonomic design, house of quality (HOQ), and safe transportation. Next, we gathered anthropometric data of people with mobility needs or visual impairment, and their requirements for safe and comfortable transportation. We used HOQ to capture the voice of consumers and design a suitable technical response to their needs, and utilized computer-aided design (CAD) to convert all the designs into 3-D prototype vehicle models. Based on the needs of people with disabilities and on the results of anthropometric calculations, the vehicle should include a lift wheelchair (15.7%), four folding passenger seats (15%), a handrail dimension (11.4%), and a handle pole (10.4%) for people with visual impairment. This ergonomic vehicle design will result in increased overall user satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Dar es Salaam, privately-owned minibuses, known as daladalas, are the most popular means of commuting. Their routes crisscross the city and the minibuses themselves are adorned with messages and inscriptions on their rear bumpers. These inscriptions comment on aspects of city life, forming a significant corpus of urban scripts. Three main categories emerge from this corpus: work, money and time. In this paper, I show how these three categories are intimately connected and can be read as an intertextual body of urban scripts commenting on the ethics of everyday life in the city. Reading these inscriptions as authorless texts, produced and interpreted by the city, I examine how they offer a nuanced yet ambivalent representation of Dar es Salaam. The three themes act as nodes around which images of and metaphors for city life in Dar es Salaam are articulated. This paper sheds light on how we can read these pithy and ubiquitous texts as an archive which comments upon what it means to live in Dar es Salaam and the ethics of city life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 is expected to transition to electric vehicles, which will result in an additional energy burden on Africa's already fragile electrical grids. This paper examines the electrical energy demands of this possible evolution, and presents a generic simulation environment to assess the grid impact and charging opportunities. We used GPS tracking and spatio-temporal data to assess the energy requirements of nine electric minibus taxis as well as the informal and formal stops at which the taxis can recharge. Given the region's abundant sunshine, we modelled a grid-connected solar photovoltaic charging system to determine how effectively PV may be used to offset the additional burden on the electrical grid. The mean energy demand of the taxis was 213kWh/d, resulting in an average efficiency of 0.93kWh/km. The stopping time across taxis, a proxy for charging opportunity, ranged from 7.7 h/d to 10.6 h/d. The energy supplied per surface area of PV to offset the charging load of a taxi while stopping, ranged from 0.38 to 0.90kWh/m2 per day. Our simulator, which is publicly available, and the results will allow traffic planners and grid operators to assess and plan for looming electric vehicle roll-outs. • Mobility and solar PV simulation platform contributed to assess electrical impact. • South Africa's "chaotic" urban minibus taxis assessed for electrification. • Taxi needs 213 kWh to travel 228 km per day, and makes chargeable stops of 8-11 h. • Charging the country's fleet will use 9.7% of current national grid generation. • Half a tennis court of PV would meet the energy needs of a taxi on an average day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An on-demand transportation system can enhance traffic efficiency through its flexible services. In this study, we introduce a planning problem for an on-demand electric minibus service within urban areas. We are considering a zone-based operation, meaning that the on-demand minibus is restricted to picking up or dropping off passengers within a single zone for each trip, and the minibus does not stop in other zones. For this zonal electric minibus system, we plan the service level for each zone, the construction of dedicated charging piles in each zone, and the optimal size of the bus fleet. To model the planning problem, we propose a mixed-integer nonlinear second-order cone program. Additionally, we introduce an adaptive discretization algorithm to expedite the problem-solving process. Our numerical tests illustrate the planning for the on-demand minibus system in Manhattan. Furthermore, these tests underscore the benefits of the proposed on-demand minibus system. The most important findings of this study are: (i) the proposed mode replaces more trips with cars, thus reducing the traffic flow and alleviating traffic congestion; (ii) the service zone division, the setting of the fare, and the number of seats in minibus play an essential role in the revenue of the on-demand minibus system; (iii) considering endogenous zone selecting, number of dedicated charging piles, and mode choice in each zone is essential to the planning of the on-demand minibus system. • The strategic planning of an on-demand electric mini-bus is proposed. • A mixed integer nonlinear second-order cone program describes the planning. • An adaptive discretization algorithm is used to accelerate the solving. • Numerical tests verify the feasibility and benefit of the mini-bus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrification of minibus taxis in sub-Sahara's paratransit sector is yet to take off. It transports nearly 70% of daily commuters in cities with its transformation being prohibited by multiple factors: an already fragile grid network, and energy scarcity in the region. Planning for eventual electrification is complicated by the sector's unique, unscheduled, decentralised, and demand-driven nature. We introduce the concepts of vehicle-day and fleet-day to structure and quantify the relationship between mobility and electricity demand. This relationship is investigated with data from 17 minibus taxis in the city of Stellenbosch, in South Africa. Two scenarios are evaluated: charging at depots only, and also charging at home, with differing numbers of depot chargers. There is a strong dependence of mobility on the number of chargers available; however, this reaches a maximum point where the relationship is no longer linked, suggesting a fundamental change in mobility patterns for further improvement. For the depot-only scenario, only 55% of vehicle-days were successful, while 79% of vehicle-days were successful when charging at home, too. The maximum distance that could be travelled in a day for depot-only charging was 190 km, increasing to 220 km when also charging at home, for a 70 kWh usable battery capacity. • New method introduced for representing the multi-route nature of minibus taxis. • Vehicle-day proposed for mobility and fleet-day proposed for grid impact. • Depot and home charging scenarios simulated with different number of chargers. • Fundamental change in mobility required for higher success rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous solutions for transportation are emerging worldwide, and one of the sectors that will benefit the most from these solutions is the public transport by shifting toward the new paradigm of Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Densely populated areas cannot afford an increase in individual transportation due to space limitation, congestion, and pollution. Working towards more effective and inclusive mobility in public areas, this paper compares user experiences of autonomous public transport across Baltic countries, with the final goal of gaining an increased insight into public needs. User experience was evaluated through questionnaires gathered along pilot projects implementing a public transportation line, using an automated electric minibus between 2018 and 2019. To have sufficient diversity in the data, the pilot projects were implemented in several cities in the Baltic Sea Area. The data analysed in this paper specifically refer to the cities of Helsinki (Finland), Tallinn (Estonia), Kongsberg (Norway), and Gdańsk (Poland). Across all cities, passengers provided remarkably positive feedback regarding personal security and safety onboard. The overall feedback, which was very positive in general, showed statistically significant differences across the groups of cities (Kongsberg, Helsinki, Tallinn and Gdansk), partially explicable by the differences in the route design. In addition, across all cities and feedback topics, males gave a lower score compared to females. The overall rating suggests that there is a demand for future last-mile automated services that could be integrated with the MaaS concept, although demand changes according to socio-economic and location-based conditions across different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim to follow the National and European regulations related to the transport field numerous initiatives have given rise to studies and analyses of low/zero environmental impact powertrain. Many investments have been made in the electric vehicles (BEVs-Batteries Electric Vehicles) field although these still present limits related to low range of autonomy and long charging times. The minibus realized by CNR ITAE within the "i-NEXT" project (funded by Italian Ministry of Educational, University and Research) has a hybrid electric powertrain based on fuel cell (FC) technology and lithium batteries (FCHEV - Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicle). The present work reports the tests drive in which different conditions of the operating range have been verified. • The Fuel Cell Hybrid Minibus is able to work in both electric (batteries) and hybrid modes (batteries and fuel cell system). • The operation logic of fuel cell system in the powertrain is a function of the batteries SOC ("State of charge") variable. • Tests drive carried out on the road have allowed to analyze normal operation and operation in limit conditions of the bus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many emerging and developing countries, urbanization and demographic changes require a remodelling of transportation systems and networks. Paratransit, with its demand responsive characteristics of being fully flexible, often represents the backbone of the transport sector while being an informal and, therefore, fairly unorganised system with little knowledge about working routines of its workers. As an example, this paper analyses the minibus taxi industry in South Africa based on data from Rustenburg, a mid-sized city, to gain valuable insights into the working behaviour of minibus taxi drivers by taking an evidence-based and data-based approach. Therefore, the principle of reference-dependent preferences is applied to the data to investigate the labour supply choice of taxi drivers, since sheer profit maximization has proven inadequate for the analysis here. Results indicate, that working hours for South African minibus taxi drivers are likely to be in the 10–12 h bracket with a revenue-dependent additional hour accounting for the revenue performance of that day. As a main finding however, South African minibus taxi drivers cannot clearly be attributed to either reference dependence or profit-maximization behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited scholarly studies have been conducted on transit advertising in general, but even more so in South Africa. The purpose of the current study was to examine commuters' cognitive responses to minibus taxi advertising by measuring their: (1) noting of minibus taxi advertising; and (2) recall of elements in minibus taxi advertisements. A survey was administered by trained fieldworkers to a quota-based sample of 398 regular minibus taxi commuters at a major taxi rank in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The results revealed that minibus taxi advertising has the potential to attract commuters' attention, since the vast majority of the respondents regularly note advertisements on passing minibus taxis. The findings also revealed that some sub-groups in the sample demonstrated different cognitive responses. It was furthermore found that the commuting respondents typically recalled visual cues, colours and branding elements of minibus taxi advertising. The unique contribution of the study is that it is one of the first to examine the effectiveness of minibus taxi advertising media on a cognitive level. Thus, from an industry perspective, the study can guide marketers, advertisers and managers in grasping minibus taxi advertising in order to make more effective use of this unique out-of-home (OOH) advertising media platform for their advertising purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2009 and 2013, the Transport Department, City of Johannesburg, negotiated with taxi operators and introduced the bus rapid transit (BRT) initiative on two routes. The protracted negotiations culminated into the displacement of approximately 900 minibuses on the two routes replaced by the BRT system. The mechanism used was to negotiate with the minibus taxi operators and compensate them for surrendering their vehicles that gave way for the BRT buses. Objectives: The objective of this article is to ascertain how the City of Johannesburg, taxi operators and drivers benefitted from the implementation of the BRT system. Method: A mixed-methods research paradigm was used. Quantitative data were collected from operators and drivers on how their skills and welfare have changed as a result of the implementation of the BRT initiative. Unstructured questionnaires were used to obtain qualitative data from the Transport Department, City of Johannesburg, and from nine taxi associations' representatives. Results: The results revealed that there were considerable benefits that accrued to the former taxi operators as well as drivers. Former minibus taxi operators and drivers' welfare have improved. They have also gained knowledge and skills in operating the formal public transport system. The benefits were, however, at the expense of the City of Johannesburg. Conclusion: Notwithstanding taxi operators' reservations, their participation was beneficial. The study focused solely on the benefits to the key stakeholders of the negotiated contract without addressing costs that have contributed to those benefits. Future research needs to undertake a comprehensive study that addresses both costs and benefits to determine whether these benefits are not at the expense of exorbitant costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Often called paratransit because of their flexible stops, schedules and routes, minibuses make up the bulk of public transport in African cities. Despite their ubiquity and importance, these systems are poorly understood by transportation planners who tend to focus on large-scale urban infrastructure projects such as highways, commuter rail or bus rapid transit systems. The assumption within much of this planning is that these minibus systems are barriers to change and will become at most secondary "feeder" buses within large-scale projects, but structured plans detailing this vision are lacking. This paper argues that frequent failure to collect data and value important paratransit systems as a critical part of transportation in their own right is deeply problematic from the point of view of equity, access and inclusive and effective planning. We ask whether the growing number of bottom up mapping projects of minibus systems can disrupt this status quo. By comparing two mapping projects, Digital Matatus in Nairobi and the Mapa Dos Chapas in Maputo, we find that inclusive, collaborative mapping can help render these minibuses more visible in planning and provoke more grounded and inclusive "planning conversations" on multi-modal integration, passenger information and minibus upgrading, all key but relatively marginalised aspects of creating accessible, low emission, high quality and safe public transport in African cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study set out to reveal the causes of accidents involving commercial minibuses, and the factors that make degrees of fatality and casualty high in Ondo State, Nigeria between 2008 and 2015. To do this, data from the FRSC Command in Ondo State were collected for analysis. The research work revealed that accidents that occurred in the hours of the night result to high and severe casualty than those that occurred during the day. Inexperienced and unqualified drivers constitute a quantum of the minibuses drivers, most of whom never attended any formal driving school/training. It was discovered that casualty figures were recorded in about 95% of the road traffic accidents involving minibuses that occurred within the period covered in the research work. It was observed that most vehicles involved in Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) that had severe cases were not adequately equipped with protective devices such as air bags, occupant restraining seat belt and impact protection for drivers. Speed violation constituted a greater causative factor of road traffic accidents involving minibuses as recorded in the research work. Degree of severity and percentage casualty were also assessed in the work. This was done using selected variables, viz; route condition, age of driver, driving experience, period or season of accident, time of travel, speed of vehicle, over loading of vehicle and driving pattern. The assessment revealed that relationship exists between cause of road traffic accident and degree of severity in road traffic accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]