A “Future of Transport Consulting Team”, consisting of Mr Darko Skrbinsek, Ms Rehana Moosajee and Mr Eric Motshwane of Piotrans, participated in “Promoting Soot-Free and Sustainable Public Transport in Africa on 30-31 May 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. An initiative of UATP – the African Association of Public Transport and supported by UNEP – the United Nations Environmental Programme – delegates from 15 countries gathered for the event.
The team conducted a training session focussed on “Transforming Operations of Informal Public Transport”, in which they shared their respective experiences in Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya system. Delegates were keen to learn, exchange ideas and deliberate. “There are many similarities across different cities in Africa”, said Mr Skrbinsek. The issues covered in the training included many of the vital ingredients around vision, leadership, stakeholder management and trust building. “A lot of training focuses on vehicle types, infrastructure and project management, “ said Rehana Moosajee. The FOT training session had delegates actively involved in their learning. “We require locally generated, relevant solutions in each locality, added Mr Motshwane. Whilst the training emphasised that there is no one size fits all approach, the FOT team also emphasised that transformation is possible.
The FOT delegation returned enthused by the steady strides that are being made in a range of countries that confirmed that public transport that benefits people and planet is high on the agenda of stakeholders.
