Addis Ababa — Addis Ababa presents a tremendous potential for global green mobility investments, said Christopher Kost, Africa Programme Director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
Speaking to ENA, he underscored the importance of strategic infrastructure investments to support green mobility.
"There is tremendous potential to electrify the mobility system in Addis Ababa. The government has already begun procuring electric buses for the capital," the expert stated.
Kost also highlighted the importance creating dedicated road space for these buses to avoid delays caused by traffic congestion, crucial to facilitate the green mobility transition in the city.
"We need to make sure that buses don't get stuck in the traffic jams, and that's why implementing Bus Rapid Transit is really critical for Addis Ababa to support this move to more clean energy and green mobility," he added.
As part of fostering the adoption of sustainable practices and technologies across various sectors, Ethiopia embarked on the latest advancements in electric vehicles and green technologies, demonstrating cutting-edge solutions and products that contribute to sustainability and environmental protection.
In this respect, Addis Ababa is embracing a transportation revolution by introducing electric buses and minibuses, it was learned.
Praising recent corridor development projects, the Africa Programme Director emphasized the improvements in pedestrian facilities and the introduction of high-quality cycle tracks on major streets of the capital Addis Ababa.
"The corridor development projects brought about a lot of improvements in walking facilities in the city. It's also brought about high quality cycle tracks on many major streets in the city."
However, he stressed the need for facilitating additional public transport infrastructure.
"We need to ensure buses have dedicated lanes through a Bus Rapid Transit system to prevent them from getting stuck in traffic," he added.
In Addis Ababa, the ongoing projects to build high-quality walkways and cycle tracks are setting a positive example for other cities across the region.
In many African cities, walking and cycling are key modes of transport, and Kost emphasized the importance of further investment in public transport.
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"Moving forward, we need to step up the investment in public transport, build the bus rapid transit network so that people also have easy access to high quality public transport."
Kost also emphasized the opportunity to electrify bus fleets in countries like Ethiopia, which has a clean electricity supply.
"As we invest in public transport, it's equally important to ensure people can easily access these systems. Developing large-scale walking and cycling infrastructure is critical to making this happen," he underlined.
