A new form of commuter transport: Parry Associates has come up with some fresh ideas on light rail technology, designed specifically to respond to the challenge of urban transport in Africa.(Company Focus)(JPM Parry & Associates Ltd.)

ONE OF THE world's biggest transport challenges lies in the growing cities of the developing world, not least in Africa, where poor transport hampers livelihoods and damages lives. An explosion in motor vehicle use, coupled with poor roads and infrastructure, have wrought economic, social, environmental and physical damage across urban areas.

There is a parallel between today's developing world cities and the slums of Europe a hundred and more years ago. What enabled workers to live further from their workplaces and eased chronic overcrowding, appalling living conditions and devastating health problems? Affordable public transport.

The tram systems of European cities brought affordable transport to the greater population, removing the need to live cramped against the factories. They enabled urban population densities to be eased and so brought about huge improvements in living conditions and public health. Of course, these conditions do not apply exactly in today's Africa but the potential for transport as a catalyst for quality of life improvements should not be ignored. The first step is to recognise the conditions that exist.

Many African cities are under severe pressure from increased transport demand resulting from population growth. It has not been possible to invest in transport infrastructure and services--and the all-too-frequent result is a mix of private taxis, minibuses, public bus services and cars crammed into streets built for far lower levels of traffic. Chronic congestion and serious pollution are often the outcomes.

Carrying on as before is not an attractive option but neither is importing solutions from Europe and North America. African conditions are not generally conducive to costly underground metros, modern electric tramways or guided busways, let alone the nature of some of the engineering and its reliance on hard currency for spare parts and repair skills. Electrification is probably not practicable anyway, so how can environmental impact be minimised?