Fleet and fuel

Vehicle supply and acquisition – In all the TRANSITIONS countries except South Africa, IPT vehicles are imported, used vehicles. In effect, these countries and cities are being used by the origin countries to cast aside unwanted, outdated vehicles, that would not meet new emissions standards required to achieve local air quality and climate change targets. Unfortunately, since these vehicles tend to be available at a lower price point than the equivalent new vehicle in the local market, they are attractive to operators who have limited financial resources. This is a problematic trend that will require concerted action not only by the origin and destination country authorities, but also by intermediary countries through which these vehicles are distributed.

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In South Africa, its protected new vehicle market and local manufacturing industry have created conditions for one particular, locally produced model to become dominant in the market. As it is relatively expensive, a local financing industry has emerged. In particular, there is one finance house that focuses exclusively on IPT finance. It appears to be targeting the less financially literate – and perhaps desperate – IPT owners, charging what amounts to punitive interest rates to mitigate against the financial risks presented by its clientele. Addressing this situation will also require concerted public authority intervention.

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Across all of the TRANSITIONS countries, it is unlikely that the political will exists to intervene effectively in these vehicle supply and acquisition dynamics, which suggests that there is the scope (and likely need) for outside intervention, for example by development finance institutions, to bring some balance and positive change.

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Fuel and emissions – IPT vehicles in all of the TRANSITIONS cities, with the exception of Freetown, were found to spend many hours on the road every day, for much of the time carrying full loads of passengers. Judging by the relatively low commercial speed, including in Freetown, a lot of effort – and fuel – go into navigating congested, limited road space that is in most instances shared with general traffic. While IPT drivers spend a lot of money on a daily basis to purchase fuel, actual fuel consumption and the emissions that arise from burning this fuel were not prominent concerns. Ensuring that they carry sufficient passengers to meet the day’s financial targets was a more pressing concern. From the owners’ perspective, fuel and emissions were also not key considerations at the time of purchase. Rather than an environmental or health argument, it seems an economic argument aimed at changing drivers’ practices would hold more sway in order to stimulate improvements in fuel consumption and emissions from IPT.