Prevailing rural transport vehicles (e.g VW campers) and their influence on transport infrastructure
Improving transport infrastucture in West Africa is a key issue. As those of us who travel in this area know “prevailing rural transport vehicles” (such as VW Campers, elderly Mercedes Buses, miscellaneous trucks) struggle due not only due the age of the vehicles, but also the stress of being driven overloaded and on poor quality roads.
THe following exerpte from a World bank road managment project highlights key issues in measuring requirements and planning improvements - and deals with issues surronding this vicious circle.
“Road infrastructure is a prerequisite (but no guarantee) for economic growth and poverty alleviation. To maximize the positive impact of transport infrastructure in general and poverty alleviation initiatives in particular, the “right” balance between interventions in the national and the rural road network is equally important – i.e. between national connectedness and basic access.
BAA adopts a holistic view in understanding mobility and accessibility needs of rural
communities. It provides a means of identifying, ranking and costing projects for addressing these needs,
for inclusion in the decision-making process. In doing this, BAA enables road authorities to adopt an
inclusive approach in managing road infrastructure, considering both national and rural roads.
BAA Basic Access Approach
The RTI network is defined as “the lowest level of the physical transport chain that connects the rural
population, and therefore the majority of the poor, to their farms, local markets, and social services, such as
schools and health centers, potentially increasing their real income and improving their quality of life” (Lebo
and Schelling, p. 9). Key features of RTI are as follows:
- Ownership: RTI is normally owned by local governments and communities.
- Managing and financing: Many different arrangements may exist for managing and financing RTI.
- Physical features: RTI connects villages to the higher classified road network. These links are normally relatively short (less than 20 kilometers) and sometimes at least partly engineered.
- Traffic characteristics: Transport activities generally are at a much lower level than on main road networks. They are a combination of pedestrians, intermediate means of transport (IMT)such as bicycles and animal-drawn carts, and motorized transport
Minimum criteria for basic access RTI are as follows:
- Passability or reliability
- Adequate access to higher level networks
- Adequate access to local social and economic facilities
- Adequate access to domestic activities
- Trafficable by prevailing rural transport vehicle