ITDP is seeking a transport manager with a strong commitment to equity and sustainability and passion to improve urban life in African cities. S/he will provide in depth technical support for project planning, project implementation, policy guidance, and capacity building in multiple fields including street design, public transport, shared mobility, parking management and strategic mobility planning. S/he will also develop technical reports, policy drafts, guidelines and training modules.

English: Stacked ITDP Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The ideal candidate has a demonstrated ability to work creatively with a diverse team. The position will also involve engaging effectively with a range of stakeholders—civic officials, politicians, civil society agents, media, and others—to help build support for sustainable and equitable urban transport. S/he will have a chance to hone his/her technical knowledge and writing skills as well as management skills while gaining exposure to the fields of sustainable transport, city planning, urban design and municipal governance.

The position is based in Nairobi. The candidate may need to travel to other project cities when required. S/he will report to the Africa Program Director and will work closely with ITDP’s Nairobi team, head office staff and international experts.

Key qualifications

• A master’s degree in transportation planning, transportation engineering, city planning or other relevant field, with at least 5-7 years of relevant professional experience.
• Prior experience in transportation planning, including survey design and management, demand analysis, network planning, fare systems, and infrastructure design.
• Experience producing pre-feasibility reports and detailed project reports for transport projects.
• Experience in drafting terms of reference for public transport operations, IT systems and other relevant areas.
• Ability to develop effective infographics and prepare high quality presentations.
• Excellent skills in use of spreadsheets, statistical and database tools and GIS.
• Working knowledge of transport modeling software.
• Familiarity with the Adobe suite preferred.
• Excellent English writing skills.

Key attributes

• Strong commitment to advancing ITDP’s mission and to environmental and social justice.
• Excellent research and analytical skills. You should enjoy working with numbers!
• Demonstrated ability to manage people and projects to successful project outcomes.
• Strong communication skills, including preparing effective graphics and making powerful presentations.
• Ability to communicate complex transport issues through concise, compelling messages.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects with flexibility, work well under pressure and keep to deadlines.
• Ability to maintain high standards while contributing pragmatic ideas.
• Availability to travel frequently.

How to apply

Interested applicants can apply by sending the following information to africa-jobs@itdp.org:

• Resume.
• Samples of written work: thesis abstract, technical reports, etc.
• Samples of visual representations such as GIS maps or infographics.
• A one-page note on improving the bus system in your city (with three specific interventions).

We are unable to consider applications without the above details. The position will remain open until filled.

(Source: Imgur via Reddit)

A photo series that walks you through the story of a memorial built in a  remote corner of the globe.  It is beautiful and moving tribute to the victims of UTA Flight 772, a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France. On Tuesday, September 19th, 1989 the aircraft exploded over Niger in the Tenere region of the Sahara Desert. French investigators determined a suitcase bomb planted by Libyan terrorists to be the cause. All 170 people on board died. You will appreciate the efforts that went into building this memorial for the perished..

via NPR 

Heard this nice review of the “fastest train in whole of Africa” on NPR.

(Source: Washington Post)

Necessity is the mother of all inventions.  Many of the world’s top innovative tools and applications, right from electricity to our modern computers, were all bron out of our existential necessities.  The following story by Stephanie McCrummen brings to you another such invention that is not the best form of transportation around, but in a country that is shattered by years of a civil war and grinding poverty, it is very effective in getting the  job done – moving people and goods, while enabling income generation for some of the poorest people in this world.

Today’s Washington Post Foreign Service featured this story of Chukudu, a pre-industrial looking local transporter, prevalent in Congo.  Here is an excerpt of this story:

African cities often have forms of transport that reflect some facet of their character. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, tiny, blue, Soviet-made Ladas buzz along the wide avenues, mementos of the country’s Cold War alliance. In the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, a corrupt syndicate runs a fleet of banged-up minibuses with names such as Dreams, Bombastic, Mayhem and I Feel Nothing, which weave a spirited, at times nihilistic, narrative through the traffic.

In the towns and villages of war-ravaged eastern Congo, the lumpy, lava-covered roads belong to the humble chukudu: hand-hewn wooden scooters that men ride and push across the hills, hauling towering loads of charcoal, cabbage, potatoes and other stuff of daily life.

Though the chukudus look pre-industrial, local residents say they date from the 1970s, when Congo’s economy and government began to collapse under the rule of then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and people had to improvise services from schools to heavy transport.

Available in three models — small, medium and large — the chukudu is a marvel of practical engineering and endurance. It has become the donkey of eastern Congo — a beast of burden that hauls vegetables in the good times and fleeing people in the bad. Purely utilitarian, chukudus are rarely painted or personalized. The most common flourishes are mudflaps for their wooden wheels. And unlike the minibuses of Nairobi, chukudus rarely inspire nicknames.

Here is the best part – Economics:   Ndayambaje, 27, said he could expect a decent 5,000 Congolese francs, or about $5, for this trip, which is $5 more than he would have if it weren’t for his chukudu.

“If you have a chukudu,” he said, “you can’t starve.”

And you don’t need a license to drive one of these. It will be interesting if someone can conduct a study on the economic impact of this transporter and possibly include  some safety statistics to go along with in that evaluation. You can bet your life that it has to be one of the best cost effective forms of transportation modes around, with a cost-benefit ratio that you cannot beat, ever.  Above all, the Chukudus are super eco-friendly, can be rated zero-emission vehicle right off the bat and people stay fit riding/pushing them around.  Anyways, click here to read the rest of this interesting article.

(Source: Business Week)

Image Courtesy: African Development Bank

International donors and lenders on Monday pledged $1.2 billion for projects to improve road and rail links between eight southern African countries.

The aim is to reduce transportation bottlenecks and bring down costs along the main trading routes through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Botswana and Mozambique.

Bad delays at national border crossings, along with road taxes, have led to high prices for shipping products to regional and international markets, especially from landlocked countries like copper-rich Zambia. Vehicles also require frequent repairs due to poor road quality.

World Trade Organization director-general Pascal Lamy told participants at a two-day conference that there was an urgent need for Africa to speed up the completion of a North-South transportation corridor.

International lending institutions and donor governments promised $1.2 billion toward the project — with half coming from the African Development Bank over the next three years.

The World Bank pledged $340 million, with additional support from the European Union and Britain.

(Source:  Guardian.co.uk)

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai survives car crash but wife Susan killed

Susan and Morgan Tsvangirai during the 2005 elections. Photograph: Desmond Kwande/Getty Images

Zimbabwe‘s prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has survived a car crash that killed his wife, Susan, near Harare today.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the prime minister was injured but not critically in the collision with a lorry. He was taken to a clinic in the capital. The driver of his official vehicle was seriously injured. There was no word on the condition of the lorry driver.

The party said there was no immediate reason to believe the accident was suspicious, but it was awaiting full details. An MDC official said that from information at the scene it appeared the lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel.

MDC officials said the couple had been heading to Mr Tsvangirai’s home town of Buhera for a political rally. Mrs Tsvangirai died at the crash scene.

The couple were married for 31 years and had six children.

Mrs Tsvangirai was widely respected in Zimbabwe as the antithesis of President Robert Mugabe’s extravagant and free-spending wife, Grace, who showed little concern for the plight of the many hungry and poor in her country.

Susan Tsvangirai largely avoided the limelight but did speak out on women’s rights and Aids. She was deeply religious.

Zimbabwe’s roads are notoriously dangerous, having deteriorated in recent years through lack of maintenance. Drivers are forced on to the wrong side to weave around potholes. Many vehicles drive without proper lights and brakes because of the difficulty and expense of obtaining spare parts.

Click here to read the entire article.