Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar

Informal public transport has been growing rapidly in many developing countries. Because urban infrastructure development tends to lag rapid population growth, informal public transport often meets the growing gap between demand and supply in urban...

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Main Author: Iimi, Atsushi
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099405504182221434/IDU09864799d06d5304ef90a1890ff386a5ac40a
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37321
id okr-10986-37321
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-373212022-04-20T05:10:37Z Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar Iimi, Atsushi INFORMAL TRANSPORTATION URBAN TRANSPORTATION URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE POPULATION GROWTH URBAN MOBILITY TRAFFIC CONGESTION DEMAND ANALYSIS URBAN TRANSPORT INFORMAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT TRANSPORT GLOBL KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE Informal public transport has been growing rapidly in many developing countries. Because urban infrastructure development tends to lag rapid population growth, informal public transport often meets the growing gap between demand and supply in urban mobility. Despite the rich literature primarily focused on formal transport modes, the informal transport sector is relatively unknown. This paper analyzes the demand behavior in the “informal” minibus sector in Antananarivo, Madagascar, taking advantage of a recent user survey of thousands of people. It finds that the demand for informal public transport is generally inelastic. Essentially, people have no other choice. While the time elasticity is estimated at −0.02 to −0.05, the price elasticity is −0.05 to −0.06 for short-distance travelers, who may have alternative choices, such as motorcycle taxi or walking. Unlike formal public transportation, the demand also increases with income. Regardless of income level, everyone uses minibuses. The estimated demand functions indicate that people prefer safety and more flexibility in transit. The paper shows that combining these improvements and fare adjustments, the informal transport sector can contribute to increasing people’s mobility and reducing traffic congestion in the city. 2022-04-19T23:24:08Z 2022-04-19T23:24:08Z 2022-04 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099405504182221434/IDU09864799d06d5304ef90a1890ff386a5ac40a http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37321 English Policy Research Working Paper;10006 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Madagascar
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic INFORMAL TRANSPORTATION
URBAN TRANSPORTATION
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
POPULATION GROWTH
URBAN MOBILITY
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
DEMAND ANALYSIS
URBAN TRANSPORT
INFORMAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT
TRANSPORT GLOBL KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE
spellingShingle INFORMAL TRANSPORTATION
URBAN TRANSPORTATION
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
POPULATION GROWTH
URBAN MOBILITY
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
DEMAND ANALYSIS
URBAN TRANSPORT
INFORMAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT
TRANSPORT GLOBL KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE
Iimi, Atsushi
Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
geographic_facet Madagascar
relation Policy Research Working Paper;10006
description Informal public transport has been growing rapidly in many developing countries. Because urban infrastructure development tends to lag rapid population growth, informal public transport often meets the growing gap between demand and supply in urban mobility. Despite the rich literature primarily focused on formal transport modes, the informal transport sector is relatively unknown. This paper analyzes the demand behavior in the “informal” minibus sector in Antananarivo, Madagascar, taking advantage of a recent user survey of thousands of people. It finds that the demand for informal public transport is generally inelastic. Essentially, people have no other choice. While the time elasticity is estimated at −0.02 to −0.05, the price elasticity is −0.05 to −0.06 for short-distance travelers, who may have alternative choices, such as motorcycle taxi or walking. Unlike formal public transportation, the demand also increases with income. Regardless of income level, everyone uses minibuses. The estimated demand functions indicate that people prefer safety and more flexibility in transit. The paper shows that combining these improvements and fare adjustments, the informal transport sector can contribute to increasing people’s mobility and reducing traffic congestion in the city.
format Working Paper
author Iimi, Atsushi
author_facet Iimi, Atsushi
author_sort Iimi, Atsushi
title Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
title_short Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
title_full Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
title_fullStr Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
title_full_unstemmed Estimating the Demand for Informal Public Transport : Evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar
title_sort estimating the demand for informal public transport : evidence from antananarivo, madagascar
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2022
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099405504182221434/IDU09864799d06d5304ef90a1890ff386a5ac40a
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37321
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