Stakeholders take stock, chart next steps for Yaounde Green Mobility project - Communauté Urbaine de Yaoundé

The Identification of artisanal transport operators in the city of Yaounde to facilitate implementation of the Green Mobility project implementation is currently underway. The process came under review at an April 12, 2024 sitting of stakeholders from the Ministry of Transport, the German Development Agency (GIZ), drivers’ syndicates and the Yaounde City Council. 

Dr Mfoulou Patrick of the Yaounde City Council remarked that the MoVe project aligns to the institution’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (PMUS). “With GIZ which has the role to put in place this roadmap it was necessary… to outline a methodology to sensitise and identify artisanal transport operators (commercial motorbikes, taxis and buses).”

Martin Sohlecht, Technical Adviser on Urban Planning for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Cameroon on his part, pointed out the two major arms of the project, all geared at improving quality of life for different strata of the population. Special attention, he revealed, is being paid to easing life for vendors, traders, and people living with disabilities.

In keeping with its development drive, Yaounde is in the process of introducing Green Mobility to ease the life and wellbeing of its inhabitants. Planned for 2023-2027, Mobilite Verte (MoVe) Yaounde encompasses a range of transportation options that prioritize sustainability, energy efficiency, and minimal environmental impact. It has as immediate targets, the professionalisation of taxi taxi services and an effective mass transit system

The scope comprises a range of actions to make the city centre safer, more accessible and more comfortable through advanced urban planning operations. These will redevelop public spaces, engage stakeholders in adapting to the new city design, as well as ensure better amenities for pedestrians, traders and passengers.

MoVe Yaounde is also set to modernise the small-scale transport fleet to improve safety, reliability, comfort and environmental safety, professionalise the collective taxi transport system and improve access to mobility for women and marginalised groups.

Through its Trans Yaounde Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), MoVe comes in as an efficient, sustainable and affordable public solution to inter-urban transport woes faced by commuters daily. It will comprise a 22 km stretch spanning from Olembe in the northern entry of the capital city, to Ahala in the southern most part. With a total of 28 stops between both points, the BRT’s first phase  is expected to serve up to 43,000 passengers per day, with a peak load of 1,500 passengers per hour (and per direction) in the first phase. 

The completion of the second phase will more than double the numbers, serving 110,000 passengers per day and a load of 4000 passengers per hour (and per direction) with 137 buses.

Move is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Cameron, with the Ministry of Housing and Développement Urbain (MINHDU) as supervisory body and the Yaoundé City Council as project implementer.

Celcom/RP-CUY