Measures to reorganise urban mobility underway in Yaounde

By Rachel NtubeNgwese in Yaounde

The poor circulation system in most urban towns like Yaoundé and Douala have for some time now caught the attention of state authorities who have been finetuning measures to curb urban traffic congestion and facilitate the circulation of persons and goods in the country’s main towns.

Following presidential instructions, a pilot committee for urban planning under the ministry of planning and urban development was created in September 2014 to define measures of reducing urban congestion and modernize the transportation system in the main towns. This notwithstanding, high transportation cost accompanied by massive air pollution remains the order of the day, especially as vehicles of very poor conditions still ply the roads.

                It is for this reason that foreign experts from France and partner countries met with government officials in Yaoundé to diagnose the causes of congestion and pollution, and proffer remedies which will facilitate the modernization of the sector.

                After two days of serious brainstorming, several factors were identified as causes for the problem including inadequate town planning system, too many projects on highways, poor parking of broken down vehicles amongst others. Equally, the intra-urban bus transport company “le bus” they said is not helping the situation since many of the broken down buses are yet to be replaced leaving the company with very few buses to pilot low cost circulation along main lines in the urban towns.

                Yaoundé for instance is left with just four of these buses and thus cannot meet up with the challenge. Also, although many more people have resorted to private transportation means, the problem still persist, and the cost still remains high since over 75 percent of transportation is done by taxis.

                Like in Brasilia the experts said it needs a strong public engagement and financing policy. The French development agency for its part will be of great help but this will require a strong government commitment and a good town planning program understandable to all road users.

                At the close of the workshop it was concluded that all short term projects to ensure decent, low cost transportation and the attractively of main towns like Yaoundé, Douala, Bamenda and Garoua should be realized before the start of 2019 Africa cup of nations to be hosted in Cameroon, while the government in the long run will continue to implement measures to ensure an efficient urban transportation system.