Overview

The three main forms of public transport - minivans, auto rickshaws and motorbikes - are ill suited for rural Africa. Nonetheless, each mode has quickly saturated the transport market.

Although affordable, motorbikes are incredibly unsafe on degraded rural roads and cannot carry many passengers or goods. While more functional than motorbikes, minivans are unaffordable to most local transport entrepreneurs (people who would normally buy and operate a public transit vehicle as a business), do not provide point-to-point transport and are too infrequent to provide a consistent transport service. While auto rickshaws have proven incredibly successful in urban areas where they offer short-haul transport to the local community, they are simply too impractical to operate in rural environments and remain focused in towns and cities. The following chart shows the value curve (key purchase criteria) of these alternatives against the Mobius car.

Comparison

 

Minivans
Auto rickshaws
Motorbikes

 

Description

Minivans are one of the most common forms of privatised public transport in Africa. Originating from Japan and Dubai as an 8-person vehicle, once in Africa they become heavily decorated and are licensed to carry up to 14 people.

The auto rickshaw is a three-wheel motorised vehicle common throughout Asia and Africa. Auto rickshaws comprise a very basic design with bench seating for three passengers, an open frame and a small 390cc two-stroke engine.

Motorbikes in Africa largely comprise Chinese and Indian imports which although of lower build quality, can be purchased for as little as $1,000. Motorbikes are ubiquitous throughout Africa and drivers rarely wear helmets.

 

Buyer price
High the vast majority of minivans purchased in counties like Kenya are imported as used vehicles from Dubai and Japan at a cost between $10,000 and $17,500. Typically, only more affluent consumers can afford the high capital cost to purchase and run a minivan as a public service vehicle.
Medium most auto rickshaws are either purchased as new imports from India at a cost of up to $5,800 for a new vehicle or as used vehicles from existing domestic owners. At this price, many rural transport entrepreneurs who aspire to owning and utilising a auto rickshaw are simply unable to afford one.
Low there are numerous motorbike brands throughout Africa - primarily low cost, low quality imports from China and India. Motorbikes can cost as little as $1,000 for a basic 125cc model. Motorbikes are relatively affordable and as a result are ubiquitous across Africa, often operated as public service vehicles.

 

User
price
Low minivans offer an affordable mode of transport on certain long-haul routes to outside towns. The typical passenger fare is $0.25-0.50 for a short trip along the highway, or $1-2 per person to travel from one town/city to the next. Minivans operate on fixed routes and do not offer users point-to-point transport.
High auto rickshaws operate exclusively within urban areas and usually transport users on short-haul trips within the local area. The fare pricing structure is a relatively crude per km estimation by the driver - usually around $1-3 for short-haul trips - independent of the number of passengers travelling.
Medium motorbikes offer a local point-to-point transport service at a fare of approximately $0.50 for a single journey in town and $2-5 for longer distances. The per km (versus per passenger) pricing structure and complete lack of other point-to-point transport in rural areas often encourages passengers to overload people and cargo to make journeys affordable.

 

Safety
Low while their licensed capacity is 14 people, minivan operators often cram in over 20 people, many of whom spend the entire journey crouching in awkward positions or hanging out the door. Seats of often loosely fitted and in the rare instances when seatbelts are provided, passengers seldom use them. Minivans usually travel at speeds between 60-100 km and offer little collision protection to the average passenger.
Medium auto rickshaws offer little safety provision without a roll-cage and usually without seatbelts. They are designed to operate at relatively lower speeds than other vehicles and thus cannot offer protection on long distance, high speed journeys.
Low it is not uncommon to observe motorbike drivers carrying families of up to 4 people (including babies) crammed onto a single motorbike, all without helmets travelling on treacherous dirt roads (often with smooth tires for paved roads, rather than more expensive off-road tires). Drivers also overload passenger cargo such as enormous bags of maize or building supplies.

 

Storage
Medium minivans offer a small amount of storage in the boot of the vehicle which is usually waterproof and a much larger area on-top of the roof, typically without a waterproof covering. In addition to this standard storage capacity, minivan operators will often employ innovative techniques to find additional space, such as shoving large bags of maize between seats or distributing luggage between passengers.
Medium auto rickshaws have limited storage capacity, typically a 2x4x4ft boot with no roof rack or towing capability. Cargo is usually covered by torn sections of canvas prone to leaks when it rains. The per passenger storage capacity is roughly comparable with a minivan.
Low motorbikes have very limited storage, comprising only a 1x1ft rack which passengers can tie cargo onto. Despite this lack of storage capacity, passengers often balance substantial cargo - such as 40kg bags of maize or large, bulky building supplies - onto the back of motorbikes in order to transport these goods point-to-point.

 

Power & Handling
Medium minivans can travel at high speeds and have relatively stable vehicle handling. Nonetheless, their limited clearance and standard suspension mean minivans are more suited to tarmac roads than the bumpy, uneven ground common in most rural areas.
Low the small three wheels on auto rickshaws provide limited stability and minimal clearance. In addition to this, basic suspension and lack of engine power mean auto rickshaws can only operate in urban areas with relatively good roads. Even in these environments, auto rickshaws travel slowly and are uncomfortable to travel in for any length of time.
Medium as well as the obvious lack of storage capacity, motorbikes also lack the stability to travel on especially rocky or sandy roads and are thus limited in terrain coverage – a highly unsafe and unpractical rural transport offering.

 

Terrain coverage
Urban + Rural the vast majority of minivans operate in urban areas. Each minivan has a fixed route along which they are required by law to follow; these routes may be either short-haul, usually moving through points of interest within a city or long haul, connecting between major cities or towns. The inherently restricted route taken by minivans means they are not able to provide the point-to-point transport required by more isolated members of the rural community.
Urban auto rickshaws lack the capability to travel on overly sandy, rocky, steep or bumpy terrain and thus can only operate in urban areas with good roads. Their low performance also means auto rickshaws are best suited to short-haul travel within a town or city. Auto rickshaws provide a point-to-point transport service.
Urban + Rural motorbikes are ubiquitous across Africa and operate in both rural and urban areas. Most motorbike public service vehicles in rural areas are based in the higher population town centres where they provide point-to-point transportation to the surrounding areas.