Safer Cities Start with Better Mobility
- 28 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Author: Lottie Stainer - UITP
On World Public Transport Day (17 April), we celebrate the millions of journeys that connect us to work, life, and one another. Additionally, for the TRANS SAFE project, public transport is far more than a convenience; it is a life-saving pillar of sustainable and integrated mobility. In Africa, where road traffic fatality rates are the highest in the world at 19.6 per 100,000 population, shifting the focus towards walking, cycling, and public transport is an urgent necessity.
At the heart of the TRANS SAFE mission is the Safe System approach, which moves away from blaming individual road users and instead focuses on designing a transport system that prevents fatal outcomes even when human errors occur.
Road user behaviour is heavily influenced by the environment. When we provide reliable, mass transport systems and safe walking networks, we reduce "injury exposure" by decreasing the total number of vehicle-kilometres travelled (Economic Commission for Africa, 2024). Evidence shows that cities with higher public transport ridership can cut their traffic fatality rate by half (UITP, 2020).
Pedestrian fatalities along Dar es Salaam’s BRT corridors fell from 114 deaths in 2015 to 75 by 2026, with some sections showing even sharper reductions (e.g., from 33 to 7 deaths - a 79% decrease along a phase 1 corridor) (World Bank, 2026). In Johannesburg, while corridor-level fatality figures are less systematically reported, the Transport Ministry of South Africa (2025) released official data showing 41% of road deaths are pedestrians, highlighting the dangers of mixed traffic and informal transport systems. The city’s Rea Vaya BRT contributes to reducing fatalities by formalising operations and replacing minibus taxis with regulated services, retraining the drivers to drive the BRT buses.
Across both cases, reductions in road fatalities were driven by four core mechanisms: segregated lanes, improved pedestrian infrastructure, formalised and regulated transport operations, and safer intersection design. By serving as the backbone of an integrated mobility network, public transport reduces the reliance on private transport and risky driver behaviour, and creates a safer, more controlled environment for all road users.
Better road design is critical to this shift. Currently, most of Africa's infrastructure is built with insufficient consideration for pedestrians and cyclists, who account for over half of the continent's road deaths (SSATP, 2025). By integrating safety into infrastructure, creating dedicated spaces for pedestrians, protected bike lanes, and "forgiving roads" that reduce crash severity, we can protect those most at risk.
Integrated mobility also transforms our public space by prioritising people and slower traffic. Research indicates that a pedestrian has a 90% chance of surviving a collision at 30 km/h, but this drops to less than 50% at 50 km/h (Yannis & Michelaraki, 2025). Evidence from one of the TRANS-SAFE Pilots in Kumasi, Ghana, further demonstrates the benefits of traffic calming and pedestrian-focused design. In this project, partners including Walk21 and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) implemented simple but effective safety interventions, including raised pedestrian crossings, new road markings and signage, and rumble strips to slow vehicles near crossings. Using the Walkability App, trained student researchers collected feedback from over 1,000 pedestrians before and after the interventions. The results were striking: positive walking experiences more than doubled, increasing from 19% to nearly 49%, while reports of feeling unsafe dropped by 48 percentage points. Walking comfort increased significantly from 11% to 50%, and 74% of pedestrians described their experience as enjoyable or very enjoyable. (WALK21, 2025)
By slowing down traffic, we not only save lives but also encourage people to use their public spaces, walking and cycling, which in turn frees up urban space for recreation and commerce while significantly reducing noise and air pollution.
Furthermore, innovative technologies are showing how systems can enforce safer behaviour. For instance, Cape Town’s pedestrian crossing behaviour algorithm identified unsafe crossings along a major highway. The project examined real-world pedestrian decision-making, particularly gap acceptance behaviour, through video recordings captured on two highways covering approximately 10 km. This method enabled the integration of observations related to users, vehicles, roadside conditions, and traffic speeds, providing a comprehensive understanding of the risk environment. An AI-based algorithm was developed to automatically map pedestrian movements and detect recurrent crossing patterns, allowing for the precise identification of behavioural risks and priority locations for intervention. The findings are expected to inform the development of improvements to the road and surrounding infrastructure design.
With only 44 months until 2030, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing these long-term challenges requires sustained investment and focus.
The Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035) presents a crucial opportunity to drive lasting changes by ensuring sustainable transport remains central to ongoing and future global agendas. Its Implementation Plan builds on the achievements of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, and looks to develop new solutions and resources for sustainable transport.
Through our pilot cities in Cape Town, Kumasi, Kigali, and Lusaka, the TRANS SAFE project is testing integrated Safe System solutions to prove that sustainable mobility is the foundation of road safety. For more information and to get involved in World Public Transport Day, check out the website: https://worldpublictransportday.com/
TRANS SAFE is supporting a webinar on “Safe roads to schools: Protecting Africa’s Future Through Safer Mobility”, hosted by SSATP and AARSLA on 17 April 11.00 WAT. Discussions will focus on designing safe zones, funding, the role of formal and informal transport systems in child safety, as well as stakeholder engagement for behaviour change.