Day 1 – Public Transport
Day 2 – Electric Vehicles
Micro and Shared Mobility
What do we even mean by smarter mobility in the African context?
A panel to discuss and debate the very definition of smarter mobility and what that would mean in the future. Often, we jump to technology solutions but the majority of people are walking in Africa. How can we be smart if we are not just
Unlocking finance for a sustainable urban mobility system generates enormous benefits that can be monetized to create new income streams and raising of funds. This session will discuss how different financing models and stakeholders can work collaboratively to allow for an equitable infrastructure required to support sustainable transport systems.
Cities were already undergoing transformation towards making mobility smarter in Africa for the people living, working, and visiting. COVID-19 looks to have created additional challenges which may at times be overwhelming. There is also an opportunity to speed up the transformation to smarter mobility by a few years which, at a first glance is a good thing.
However, the increased pace of transformation will bring both challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders involved, not least the policy makers and planners. This session brings together city leaders and planners to explore how their job role and priorities may have shifted, and what the real challenges and opportunities are ahead.
Disruptive technology and the sharing economy have completely transformed the mobility space, creating new markets with a more on-demand, consumer-centric model. This session will explore and question the following:
- Can regulation of informal services provide better urban mobility?
- What can be done to improve the existing conditions?
- How can we overcome resistance to adopting regulation of informal services?
The opportunity for a rapid transition to smarter mobility solutions is ever increasing. However, what does this mean for lower income neighbourhoods and is everyone going to benefit? What about the most vulnerable stakeholders such as pedestrians, cyclists, women, children, youth, elderly, and people with disabilities?
In order to build centres of excellence, filling the void requires funding, capacity and long-term commitment to facilitating a just transition toward smarter systems within the indigenous knowledge systems found in many African countries. Enabling homegrown innovations to take centre stage in excellence.
This panel discussion focuses on three main questions.
- What kind of entities exist in Africa which touch some of these elements?
- Why are they there and what motivates their persistence?
- How do they retain their impact on financial sustainability?
The cost of electric vehicles and the wider value chain change year on year, and are usually in a downward trend. Therefore, understanding the current and forecasted total cost of ownership of electric vehicles is vital for any government, organisation or fleet management company to make decisions on investing into electric vehicles or creating policies and frameworks to support electric vehicles’
Auto Trader South Africa sees millions of visits to their website platforms each month. This puts the organisation on the front line to understand the attitudes and behaviours of car buyers in real time. Auto Trader South Africa will share insights and trends car buyer’s attitude towards car ownership and electrification.
The learnings create a benchmark for African cities and countries to compare against.
We’ve seen that there is appetite for EV’s in South Africa through the survey and we also see this in the search data on AutoTrader site, where consumers search for EV’s in makes and models that don’t have those derivatives as yet. What can SA do to prepare to meet this growing demand?
The development of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has been rapid in the last 5 years. However, when should Africa expect to see electric or hydrogen fuel cell trucks on the roads and what are the challenges and opportunities?
Is this the most exciting leapfrog since the arrival of the mobile phone in Africa? Increasing access to mobility and access to energy can now be achieved through building one connected mini-grid system. Furthermore, electric vehicles can boost demand for electricity which increases the economic feasibility to build renewable energy systems with battery storage. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure can branch out of Africa’s growing renewable energy grid.
Cycling already plays a strong role in African mobility. The economic benefits of cycling through, for example increased access to job opportunities and education will be assessed in this session, whilst also considering the benefits of keeping emissions and congestion down.
Walking and cycling has, in many African countries saved the day during COVID 19, and kept things running. Should we be doing more to encourage walking and cycling as modes of transport?
Technology has enabled many parts of the world to benefit from real time timetables, access to ride hailing and sharing, and an integrated transport journey including bikes, busses, trains, taxis and so on. However, whilst taking this opportunity into consideration it is important to understand and address the basic challenges that exist in Africa for smart cities.
This session will explore the initiatives that are making African cities smarter, enabling better movement of people and goods.
Home delivery of food, electronic goods, and consumables has increased during the COVID 19 lockdown. What are the opportunities that come from this? What does it mean for mobility and cities? And what should the private and public sector be doing?