Ethiopian capital's projects aim to improve public transportation to level of middle-income countries

The nomination of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, for the Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) in the third Guangzhou International Awards has given the city administration confidence that it is headed in the right direction.

Tewodros Tsegaye, the Bus Rapid Transit project management head for the Transport Programs Management Office, says the nomination has boosted the agency's confidence that it's on the right track in efforts to improve the city's public transportation system.

"We are motivated to continue executing our projects," he says.

Geoffrey Bickford (second from left), program manager of the South African Cities Network and the TPMO staff. Edith Mutethya / China Daily

The city expects to develop up-to-standard road networks, provide urban public transportation services and ascertain traffic safety to the same extent as middle-income countries by 2020.

Toward that end, the Addis Ababa City Road and Transport Bureau established the Transport Programs Management Office in 2014 to act as a steering body to lead and coordinate all city transportation projects.

The organization will initiate and execute projects to alleviate current transportation problems.

By 2024, when the transportation management office is expected to be dissolved, the public transportation system in Addis Ababa is expected to be reliable, affordable, efficient, environmentally friendly, comfortable and secure, authorities say.

Yeheyis Sillase, head of the pedestrian and public transportation management division, says the city faces a public transportation fleet shortage, with 70 percent of residents walking to and from work.

He says the ratio of buses to people in the city is about 1 to 3,273, compared with the ratio recommended by the World Bank Group of 1 to 1,000.

One of the projects aimed at solving this problem is construction of seven Bus Rapid Transit lines with a dedicated corridor. When the corridor is completed, an estimated 54,000 passengers are projected to travel daily along it.

With its low investment costs, the Bus Rapid Transit system represents an affordable transportation alternative for passengers and provides a comprehensive solution to the city's congestion and pollution issues.

Other projects include construction of three public transportation terminals, three bus depots, two bike-sharing pilot projects, car parking facilities and development of an intelligent transportation system to improve traffic flow.

Sillase says the Transport Programs Management Office is optimistic that it will win the prestigious award. He says the office hopes that winning the award would not only push implementation of additional similar projects, but would lead to negotiating with potential international partners.

The Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) is given to innovative initiatives - policies, projects or practices - in cities and regions around the world. Its objective is to recognize the importance of public sector innovation in promoting socioeconomic conditions, the quality of the environment and sustainability of cities and regions, as well as advancing people's livelihoods.

The award is also a platform for the sharing lessons learned from successful innovation practices in support of the implementation of two United Nations initiatives - the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The initiatives eligible for application should represent an original undertaking, such as a new policy or strategy or a new business model or practice that promotes social, economic and environmental sustainability in a city or region. It should also be an ongoing or recently completed initiative.

Geoffrey Bickford, program manager at South African Cities Network, says the institutional approach of Addis Ababa seems to be the real innovation that led to the award nomination.

The Transport Programs Management Office "was established as a support to the existing transport institutions at the city and has the mandate to research, plan, experiment, implement and monitor across a range of transport areas, including pedestrian safety, public transport and traffic improvements such as parking," he says. "This seems to be the innovation for this candidate."

Noting that the Transport Programs Management Office has partnered with Bloomberg and the World Bank, Bickford says that partnering with multiple international urban and transportation support organizations is a way to address capacity shortfalls and demonstrates innovation in how to achieve an ambitious goal despite a constrained capacity and resource environment.

Since 2012, three cycles of the Guangzhou Award have been organized, with submissions from more than 150 cities and local governments from around the world each time.

Others nominated for the 3rd Guangzhou Award include Asuncion, Paraguay; Brussels, Belgium; Jakarta, Indonesia; Luleburgaz, Turkey; Malang, Indonesia; Menashe, Israel; Ramallah, Palestine; Tampere, Finland; and Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Mexico.