Govt improves intra-urban transport system in cities

The establishment of an integrated system of mass transport in the cities of Cameroon is the order of the day, following discussions between Brazilian partners and the Government through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

The goal is to provide our cities, including Yaoundé and Douala, of means of transport adequate to facilitate the rapid movement of people and the intra-urban traffic flow. This is a service offering that could overcome the many deficiencies found in the urban transport sector.

Even without being an expert in the field, one can notice at firsthand that our cities suffer a gaudy deficit in means of mass transportation. For the time being, the services offered are below needs. While the commonly accepted standard provides the presence of bus lines service or any other means of rapid transit in a city of more than 50,000 inhabitants, none of our cities has to date of a reliable system.

The informal sector has quickly filled the void through parallel transport or substitution as motorcycle taxis, "cargo" modes and other motor tricycles. Since the demise of the Sotuc, several initiatives have emerged after a promising start, based in Yaoundé, Le Bus Company beats today the wing, its activities being reduced to their simplest expression.

The presence of Brazilian experts exposes the benefits of a new mode of transport based on a fast system known as "Bus Rapid Transit" which should facilitate the rapid movement of people by bus at a lower cost. This system guarantees both comfort and punctuality to users.

Improving the supply of means of transport along with the upgrading of the infrastructure is the focus of the government in cities. For the time being, nobody has yet lifted the veil on the practical modalities for the implementation of such a project that requires multiple prerequisites.

Furthermore, the way of structuring of urban transport policy is also linked to how is structured the city itself.