S. Blankhart

Transport for the Urban Poor in Lusaka

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PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The spatial pattern of Lusaka is highly dispersed and is especially unfavourable for the poorer sections of the population.
2. The state-owned public transport company UBZ (United Bus Company of Zambia) cannot provide adequate public transport services in Lusaka and private operators capitalize on this failure of UBZ. It cannot be denied that the private sector has become indispensable in providing public transport services. Within any future public transport system both UBZ and private operators can play a role. UBZ should have a chance to prove its capability to provide reliable public transport services by enlarging their rolling stock, in order to operate more routes more frequently, by improving their organization eg. the route pattern. Alongside measures to develop UBZ, private transport companies should be given the opportunity to complement UBZ services. This can be done through strict control of the privately owned public transport vehicles movements and by stimulating the operators to provide express services and services in areas not served by URZ. There should be an overall public transport network plan incorporating services of ULZ and the private transport operators. When the improvement of the existing public transport system is discussed the suggestion of UNZA to improve the existing railway network for a commuter rail service between Chilanga south of the city and Ngwerere north of Lusaka, should also be considered. (Commuter Trains for Lusaka by L. Van den Berg of the Department of Geography of the University of Zambia. 1977.) This proposal is based on local rather than imported resources and the starting point is the available rolling stock in Zambia which could make it a comparatively cheap new public transport system using existing components.
3. Pedestrians and cyclists are not accorded the status they deserve as regular modes of transport, An overall transport plan in Lusaka should include crosswalks, walkways and -signals for pedestrians and signed bicycle routes and lanes for bicycles. Safety education programmes should make pedestrians, cyclists and motorists aware of traffic rules and the rights of cyclists and pedestrians. Cycling should be promoted because it is a cheap mode of transport in Lusaka and physical features in Lusaka do not prohibit cycling. Therefore two conditions have to he met in Lusaka.
   1. Good quality bicycle should be available at reasonable prices. Bicycle loans from employers should be given priority.
   2. special facilities for cyclists like seperate cycle-ways should get more emphasis.
4. At the moment Busaka is making for rather expensive solutions to solve the pressing transport problem by introducing new transport alternatives such as electric tramways or trolley buses. If income distribution and fares remain the same, only a small part of the population (25%) at the most can afford travelling daily with any form of public transport.
5. In the squatter settlements where nearly half of the population of Lusaka lives, walking is by far the most important mans of transport to work. Only 20% of the work force makes daily use of public transport to and from work. Non-availability of transport means and distance to work are factors influencing the choice of which mode of transport to work is used, hut the most important factor is income. The majority of the population in the squatter settlements studied do not spend anything on transport to work. An improved public transport system could possibly affect this figure, but for many workers expenditure on transport has a lower priority, than expenditure on other basic needs such as housing clothing and food. This points to the need for cheaper solutions to the transport problem such as the promotion of cycling. The allocation of scarce public funds to public transport systems which the majority of the population is unlikely to he able to afford should therefore be seriously questioned.