events

Thursday, March 21, 2024

The World Bank HQ

MC C2-350

Join us for Paratransit / Popular Transportation Day (P/PTD) held on the sidelines of Transforming Transportation 2024. The event will focus on paratransit services—also known as popular, informal, artisanal, or intermediate public transportation—the privately provided, publicly serving local transportation services and systems that emerge in nearly every city in the Global South. It will explore the role these privately provided, publicly serving local transportation systems can play in decarbonizing transportation and achieving a just transition. Join colleagues, researchers, practitioners, and advocates as we discuss finance, fleet renewal, data and technology, and research.

P/PTD is co-organized by the Africa Transport Program (SSATP), Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia’s Climate School (CSUD), Climate Champions, Digital Transportation for Africa (DT4A), Global Network for Popular Transportation (GNPT), International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF), RMI, Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC), Volvo Educational and Research Foundations (VREF), the World Bank, and WRI’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

SESSION ONE: 12:30 PM to 2:15 PM | In-person only

Roundtable on Climate Finance and Funding
for Paratransit / Popular Transportation

• MODERATOR: Binyam Reja, Global Practice Manager, The World Bank

A frank discussion (Chatham House rules) on the opportunities and challenges of using public and private investments and assistance to mobilize the privately provided, publicly serving local transportation services and systems to decarbonize transportation and achieve a just transition. Roundtable participants include representatives from development banks, multilateral finance institutions, private philanthropies, global NGOs, and transportation researchers.

• (Working lunch provided courtesy of Volvo Research and Educational Foundations)

SESSION TWO: 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM | Zoom Link

Case Studies in Improving and Decarbonizing Popular Transportation

• MODERATOR: Mustapha Benmaamar, Program Manager, SSATP

With case studies from Mexico City, India, and Dakar. Featuring: Secretaria de Movilidad, Ciudad de Mexico; Volvo Research and Educational Foundations; the World Bank and World Resources Institute; Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP); and the International Transport Workers' Federation.

• Mexico City’s “Movilidad de Barrio” (Neighborhood Mobility) Strategies - with Fernanda Rivera, Director General of Transportation at the Mobility Secretariat of Mexico City (SEMOVI)
• Informal and Shared Mobility (ISM) in India: Linking Research and Policy Actions - with Dr. Rutul Joshi, Sr. Associate Professor, CEPT University
• Financing the Electrification of Paratransit Modes: A 3-Wheeler Case Study from India - with Mansha Sehgal, Transport Specialist at the World Bank, and Chaitanya Kanuri, Associate Director for Electric Mobility at WRI India
• The Senegal Bus Renewal Scheme: From 2005 to Today - with Simon Saddier, Urban Mobility Pillar Lead for the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP)
• Reactor: Alana Dave, Director of Public Transport, International Transportation Workers Federation

SESSION THREE: 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM | Zoom Link

Expanding Data and Tech for Finance and Climate in Popular Transportation

• MODERATORS: Dr. Jacqueline M. Klopp, Director, Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Columbia Climate School, and Ben Welle, Director, Integrated Transport & Innovation at World Resources Institute

Featuring Stellenbosch University, Digital Transport for Africa, Transport for Cairo, International Transport Forum, and the Global Network for Popular Transportation

• Data and Planning for the Eventual Electrification of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Popular Transport - with Thinus Booysen, Professor in Engineering and Research Chair on the Internet of Things, Director of the MTN Mobile Intelligence Lab at Stellenbosch University
• Advancing Emissions and Road Safety Data Collection in Lusaka, Zambia - with Mohamed Hegazy, Director and Co-founder of Transport for Cairo (TfC), and Tolga İmamoğlu, Senior Manager at WRI Türkiye
• ITF Modeling Framework to Assess the Impacts of Measures to Decarbonize Urban Passenger Transport - with Stephen Perkins, Head of Research and Policy Analysis at International Transport Forum (ITF)
• Data Collection & Reporting Protocol for Informal and Shared Mobility (DCRP-ISM) - with Benjamin de la Peña, CEO of Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) and Chair of Global Network for Popular Transportation (GNPT)