COLLECTIVE ACTION DILEMMAS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT REFORMS: A qualitative study of government officials and bus companies willingness and attitudes in Nairobi, Kenya and Kigali, Rwanda

Abstract

Public transport in many African cities operate inefficiently, leading to a continued reliance on private vehicles, frequent traffic jams and heighted carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, there is a pressing need to make public transport reliable. Previous research has identified barriers with collaboration to create sustainable public transport, and United Nations among others have established Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in various countries to enhance sustainable public transport systems. Yet my question is why the African cities Nairobi and Kigali are not undergoing the necessary reforms to implement this. Therefore, the thesis investigates the following: “What are the prospects and impediments of reforming public transport in Kenya and Rwanda?” Drawing on the theory of collective action, it assumes trust in others affects people’s willingness to put aside their own self-interests and priorities to collaborate for the public good. This thesis uses a qualitative method with interviews and investigates 1) the trust between government officials and bus companies and 2) rational behaviors within the groups. The results in Kenya showed that there is low trust and willingness to collaborate, leading to a profit driven and corrupt informal public transport system. In Rwanda, local stakeholders are willing to collaborate, yet due to financial constraints after Covid, the system has low availability of buses and has lost its reliability. In conclusion, future research should continue to study on attitudes around willingness to reform public transport, how institutional capacity affects peoples trust and also explore different types of incentives for them to change.