Transforming Transportation 2025

How can we ensure innovative transport solutions and approaches can lead to concrete change on the ground? Join leaders and experts from around the world as they explore the skills, resources, and institutional changes that can help make better transport a reality.

Welcome Address

• Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Infrastructure, The World Bank
• Ani Dasgupta, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Resources Institute

Opening Session

• Bernardo Arévalo, President, Republic of Guatemala

Plenary 1 - Capacity, Governance, and Innovation for Implementation
This session will address ways to build local capacity for planning, implementing, and maintaining sustainable transportation systems that focus on reducing carbon emissions, including institutional coordination and strengthening.

• Frannie Léautier, Partner, CEO, SouthBridge Investment, Rwanda
• Sarath BS Abayakoon, Governor, Central Province, Sri Lanka
• Renée Amilcar, General Manager, OC Transpo & President, UITP
• Juan Carlos Muñoz, Minister, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, Chile
• Ydanis Rodriguez, Commissioner of Transport, New York
• Jose Tonato, Minister, Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development, Benin

[Femi Oke] Welcome, everybody. Hello. Hello, it’s good to see you. Hello, online. Nice to see you around the world. This is the 22nd edition of Transforming Transportation. Whose first time is it? Wow. Keep your hands up. People who’ve been before will turn around and shake it and welcome you. You are in for a treat. Has anyone had their hand shaken, first-timers? No, please. Any more? First-timers, welcome. Unless you’ve got a hand-shaking phobia, and then I appreciate that. But okay, everybody’s welcome now. Fantastic. If you’re watching here, in DC, or you’re watching online over the years at Transforming Transportation, we’ve talked about the connection between development and transportation. Talked about how important it is to have sustainable transportation. Our theme for the 22nd edition of Transforming Transportation is implementation. It’s not the why, it’s the how. You think after you’ve got your policies, you’ve got your financing, you can’t mess up the how, right? These next two days will focus on implementation. My name is Femi Oke. I am your Conference Moderator for the next two days. If you’re looking for the program, you will find it on the online Cvent app, which will tell you what is coming up next, but if you don’t have your app, I will help you for the very first part with the opening remarks. Guangzhe Chen is the Vice President of Infrastructure for the World Bank, and Ani Dasgupta is President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Resources Institute. If you’ve seen these two work before, you know that they are a perfect double act. Welcome, gentlemen, again to your conference. Thank you.

[Guangzhe Chen] Thank you, Femi, and it’s great to have you with us again. Good morning and good afternoon for those connected online. It’s great to see many of you here, and many of you are also a familiar face, but I also noticed that when Femi asked a question, I roughly estimated maybe about 30%, 40% are first-timers for this conference. Well, welcome. I hope that you enjoy it and you may come back next year. It’s been 22 years in the working, you will see the history of these events. First, on behalf of my colleagues at the World Bank Group, and our partners in the World Resources Institute, the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, I really want to welcome you all to the 22nd edition of Transforming Transportation. It’s really an honor to see many distinguished guests, ministers, practitioners, and also development practitioners, and also representatives from civil society organizations, think tanks, academics, and public and private sector leaders. Transforming Transportation has grown into a significant platform for advancing sustainable transport solutions and your presence today signifies this importance. The theme of this year’s conference is “Driving Change, Delivering Solutions.” Over the next two days, we will address the skills and resources needed to move from policy, to action, to implementation. Why is this topic and why now? The past edition of the Transforming Transportation has articulated a clear vision for modern transport, which is we want it to be clean, to be safe, sustainable, accessible, inclusive. Last year, we addressed the point about focus on financing. Imagine the world where opportunities just beyond which, not because of a lack of ambition or skills, but because the journey is also too far, or too costly, or too dangerous. That’s the reality for billions of people today, and that’s why we’re here. Transport is a missing link in economic development. It’s a creator and a connector to jobs, and which is a very important development solution that we all aspire to provide. It’s a bridge between farms and market, between business and customers, and between people and opportunity. With our advancing transport system and with our local skills to run them, investment in employments, agriculture, industry, we not reach their full potentials. I’m really proud to say that the World Bank Group is a committed partner to addressing the sustainable transport challenge worldwide. We are proud to be the largest financier among the DFI, among MDBs on sustainable transport in developing countries. We have a portfolio of about 160 transport projects worldwide for a value of about 35 billion dollars. The 35 billion dollars, of course, compared to needs is small, but we certainly think this is catalytic financing that we can leverage in other financiers, and of course, working with the partner governments. Since fiscal year 2017, we have committed over 20 billion dollars to future-fit resilient transport systems through over 200 projects. When completed, these projects will benefit millions of people with improved access to sustainable transport. This means better access to jobs and essential services, a more resilient market, and also a connected community. Specifically, just a couple of examples, this project means that people in the Pacific Islands can rebuild key roads and revise small business after natural disasters. In Egypt, the business can move goods by wheel instead of trucks because we funded a very large railway operation. This will save time and resources, and of course, just the climate change challenge. We’re rapidly urbanizing cities like Dakar, Quito, and São Paulo, where our support on BRT and metros, and it means that we can help moving communities from their home to the jobs and to other services. Still, the work ahead of us is vast. As we speak today, we still have over a billion people still who lack access to accessible roads, and over 2 billion people have a problem in terms of accessing public transportation. Road crashes still claim over 1.2 million people and cause 50 million serious injuries worldwide. And the majority of that, in fact, 93% of that is in developing countries. Investing in transport infrastructure alone is not enough. We must invest in people, the expertise, technical skills, and strong institutions. This can ensure the long-term success and the stability of the transport solutions. The World Bank Group recently has made several changes in the past two years to better deliver for our clients and get them close to the tools and knowledge that they need for the business ahead. One is for a stronger development outcome, we developed a new World Bank Group Scorecard, which provides measures on how we deliver our mission to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity in a livable planet. It will help us be more transparent, accountable, and to maintain our impact of the work. Transport features permanently in this corporate scorecard. And one of these metrics is called “Connecting Communities.” We also created what we call a knowledge compact for action. Also, in a different sector, we created a series of what we call “Academy,” including transport academy. This is really to provide a forum, a training capacity building opportunity for our client countries among the policymakers and also practitioners. To leverage the collective expertise of Transforming Transportation, attendees, we kick off the 2025 Transforming Transportation with a ministerial roundtable yesterday. We have a representation across the world with some 15 ministers, deputy ministers, gathering to talk about transport challenges and also the solution that they have experienced. I hope these conversations throughout the week will follow through on some of the ideas that we discussed yesterday, and I look forward to more offering of this discussion, and also on our new focus to become a better, more impactful, and more efficient World Bank Group. I’m confident that with your expertise, your dedication, and your ideas, we can continue to push the boundaries and develop sustainable transport solutions to benefit people in the planet. The roads ahead are challenging, but the destination is worth it, which is a world where transport brings opportunity within which of everyone. As we gather over the next two days, let’s remember the future we envision isn’t just possible, it is within our gaps. Let’s make it happen. Thank you for being here. I look forward to the continued conversation, and the networking, and the brainstorming, and the learning from each other over the next two days. Thank you. [Applause]

[Ani Dasgupta] Good morning, everyone. [Audience] Good morning. [Ani Dasgupta] Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to people joined online. Thank you all for joining. I love that I get to do this with Guang. Maybe this is the fourth year we’re doing this together. As Guang pointed out, this is our third decade doing this together. It’s wonderful to see. This is a great week for me to see a lot of old friends, and 40% you said, 40% new friends. Looking forward to meeting. A lot of you have traveled from far away, so I just want to welcome you to DC. It’s a very different DC that you were here last year. It is astonishing in some ways, but I think we have a challenging policy environment in quite a few countries in the world, not just this country. I don’t think we can ignore it, but I also think we can’t get totally distracted by it. As Guang pointed out, we have a lot of work to do. I just think over the more than two decades, it’s not only that we just have held this conference or gathering, I think we have built a community. I mean, that’s our singular goal. A community of practitioners, a community of people who believe that transport can be done differently, that we can move people to where they need to go easily, inexpensively, especially poor people who have difficulty getting to where they need to go, quickly. We can do that without destroying the planet. Most importantly, this is why we had this meeting in the Bank, that good transport can be an enormous path to prosperity. We believe this. This is not just because we are a group of people, just technical people. I think we believe this because we lead with our heart and we are going nowhere. We’re going to keep doing this till we get to the destination. I really mean that we are here because we care. You’re wondering what I’m saying. Let me take an example. Let’s take Kelly, for example. You will meet Kelly Larson. She’s in the first or second panel. Kelly is actually a donor. She works for Bloomberg Philanthropy. I’ve known her for 10 years now since I started working in WRI. Bloomberg Philanthropies has a very, very fancy office in New York, with a lot of aquariums and fishes, more fishes than people. Kelly could easily be sitting in that plush office because she’s a donor, She could give us money, gives money to the World Bank and sit back. But she doesn’t do that. She travels to every city she works with, every, every time I see her, she’s coming from somewhere, going somewhere. That’s the kind of people this community is about. We care about what we do. This community together has been producing incredible results across the world. Guang talked about road safety. I’ll give you an example for Bangalore, where we work in. Bangalore is the fifth, I think, most congested city in the world. This is the tech capital of India. 650 people die in Bangalore in road accidents, or used to die. That’s a very large number for one city. Last year, the Bangalore, after many years of work, of our team, many teams, the Bank’s team, the Bangalore adopted a viscerally different way of doing things. It adopted safety as a part and parcel of how they’re to do infrastructure, not just build roads for cars, but build roads for people. This “people-centricness” is common to the innovation that’s going around. They put more than 100 million dollars of their own money, and they instantly saw results. A similar people-centric city is in Brazil. Brazil, one of the leaders in public transport, not lost 90,000 jobs during COVID, 7.3 billion dollars. Only 10 public transport companies got public support before COVID. Now, more than 160 or something, get it? That brought change in public policy, specifically to change the economics of public transport. It actually resulted in actual revival of the public transport, ridership is back. Similar in Beijing. Similar, our community of people working has created an app that allows people to seemingly use transportation across modes, public modes of various kinds. Metros, busses, shared vehicles. That has allowed this, 30 million people on it right now, 30 million people. That has saved 400,000 tons of CO2. My favorite example is electric mobility. I said last year, in the electric mobility, the absolute innovation that’s going on in bus mobility, a bus electrification in India. But what is really fascinating to me, is what’s happening in two and three wheelers in India and in Africa. 90% of new registration in Africa is two and three wheelers. If we can electrify that, there’s a huge revolution coming, not in just transportation, but in jobs and clean air. That is what, actually, a team working with German support right now in Kenya, with the support of what we have learned in India, is to unleash that economy of electrified two wheelers and three wheelers, to make mobility for the poorest people better. These are the kinds of things that are happening in the world. As you very much know that these innovations that are happening, amazingly, people-centric innovation, that’s common across all the stories I told you, are not enough. We need to figure out how to do this and scale over and over again, and that’s only possible when we actually have policies in place and financing in place. That’s a core of what we’re going to hear for the next two days from all of you, but I think this year is an incredible opportunity to get it right. This year in Belém, the COP that is going to take place, it is about the next ambition of NDCs. Every five years, countries come together with a higher ambition for NDCs or better. This year is the year, 2025, Last time it was in Glasgow in 2021. In Dubai, we made great progress in getting specificity, or sectoral specificity, in energy, in efficiency, but not yet in transport. We know a better outcome doesn’t come from NDCs, but when they actually are connected with national policies, clear targets, clear sectoral policies. Transport so far still doesn’t have that. This is an opportunity. We made great progress in Dubai to get cities into it. We already see Brazil, for example. I hope people in Brazil are here. Actually, in the new NDC, there’s a very specificity of transport and of cities, and these things will come together. This is an opportunity for our community this year to actually bring together a really people-centric solution that can actually inspire national governments to put specific commitments in transport and financing in the policies so that we can replicate the stories that I just shared with you. This is why we are here, so that our community can not only do innovation in different places, but can add it up so we can make change globally. Thank you for being here. I’m really looking forward to learning you in the next two days. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Our keynote speaker for the 22nd edition of Transforming Transportation is the President of the Republic of Guatemala, President Bernardo Arévalo. President Arevalo, are we connected? [Bernardo Arévalo] We are connected. Femi, how are you? Good morning to everybody in DC. [Femi Oke] Fantastic. Very well, thank you. And also, around the world watching you online. Mr. President, I know you have your keynote conversation. You will start, and then I will join in, in just a little while. Over to you. Thank you.

[Bernardo Arévalo] Thank you very much, Femi. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished leaders in the transportation and development sectors, colleagues from various nations and representatives of the World Bank Group. I’m honored to address you at this highly significant conference where we share a common goal, transforming our transportation systems into engines of development, sustainability, and resilience. Guatemala, as part of the global community, recognizes that transportation is not just about moving goods and people. It is a fundamental pillar for development, inclusion, and investment attraction. I thank the World Bank Group for fostering this space for the dialog and collaboration, because we know that a nation’s development is not built in isolation, but collectively with vision, commitment, and a determined effort. Guatemala is a beautiful, diverse country, both culturally and geographically. We have faced tremendous challenges, but our people and our government are committed to transformation. We have taken the first decisive steps towards a more efficient and sustainable transportation model. I would like you to know about how Guatemala has begun modernizing its infrastructure, improving connectivity, and implementing public policies that promote accessible and safe transportation for all citizens. First, you should know that Guatemala is currently in a period of a very positive political transformation. We are consolidating our democracy, rescuing our institutions, and strengthening the rule of law. We are decisively moving away from a country where corruption and arbitrariness hindered development to one where transparency and efficiency promotes growth and prosperity. Economic and social development is only possible within a framework of truly democratic institutions, citizen participation, and transparency in public management. Democracy is the foundation upon which we build a fairer country with greater opportunities for all. Within this framework, access to dignified, safe, and efficient passenger and freight transportation is an essential condition for ensuring equal rights and the well-being of our people. We are also modernizing our economy. In recent years, Guatemala has experienced sustained economic growth with a GDP rate of 3.7% in 2024 and an expected 4% in 2025. Inflation, as of January 2025, stood at 2.19%, reflecting stability in the general price level. Our country maintains solid macroeconomic fundamentals with a controlled fiscal deficit of 0.96% in 2024 and low public debt representing 22.13% of GDP in the same year. These indicators reflect an expanding economy, but they also remind us that we need investment in key sectors that drive inclusive and sustainable development. The transportation sector is one of them, essential for improving competitiveness, regional integration, and quality of life. Every investment in transportation translates into more jobs and more opportunities. An efficient transportation system reduces costs and strengthens key sectors such as agriculture, an industry that employs more than one-third of our population and contributes 10.2% to our GDP. A farmer’s products only hold value if they can efficiently reach markets, and businesses thrive when goods flow smoothly across our nation. To achieve our goals, it is crucial to adopt a multimodal transportation approach where roads, railways, transports, airports, and passenger and freight transport operate in an integrated manner. An efficient multimodal transport system reduces logistics costs, improves internal and regional connectivity, and optimizes resources utilization. Attracting investment in transportation is vital, but we are aware of our financial challenges. Therefore, international cooperation and foreign direct investment in infrastructure and transport are necessary to continue along our chosen path. Our country’s strategic location in Central America provides a key advantage for trade and logistics. However, to fully leverage this potential, we must overcome historical challenges in infrastructure and mobility. For too long, investment in transportation has been insufficient, representing less than 1% of GDP annually over the last decade, and inefficient, and mostly, often thwarted by corruption. This has resulted in inadequate maintenance and a deteriorated road network, a problem which is made worse by the effects of climate change. That is why we are working to strengthen our transportation networks, promoting inter-modality and the efficient use of various transportation to connect communities and boost our economy, while also strengthening governance, improving project execution, and leveraging private sector commitment to unlock the full potential of our transportation sector. To address these challenges, Guatemala is implementing six strategic policies and projects. First, we are strengthening our legal framework by adhering to international best practices in port, airport, and land transportation sectors. Our goal is to adopt standards which are transparent and that enhance road safety, protect lives, and encourage both public and private investment. Second, we are advancing strategic infrastructure projects that elevate national and regional connectivity. The construction and maintenance of roads and the reactivation of the railway system are priorities to ensure efficient and sustainable transportation. Recently, we passed the Priority Road Infrastructure Law, and a proposed reform to the law of public-private partnership for infrastructure development is currently before congress to improve the management of these alliances. Third, inclusion of rural communities. We understand that developing the big strategic infrastructure network is fundamental for economic development. But we need a similar effort for inclusion in the poorest regions of our country investing in development infrastructure. We are building and improving access roads in rural areas to ensure that all communities can reach essential services and economic opportunities, connecting parts of the country which have been abandoned forever into the main road and transportation system. Fourth, we recognize that transportation transformation is not an individual challenge, but a collective effort. We are committed to regional and international cooperation, and to engaging with foreign private investors. We are promoting strategic alliances with partner countries, multilateral organizations, the private sector, and civil society to share knowledge, attract investment, and strengthen sustainable mobility. A key initiative in this regard is the current Cooperation Project between the governments of the United States and Guatemala, aimed at strengthening our country’s ports and airports and reactivating the railroad system. This effort is being carried out in collaboration with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Fifth, road safety. We are expanding the coverage and services of our road protection and safety agency to prevent accidents and increase the safety of pedestrians and drivers on our roads. Finally, and very importantly, we are augmenting transparency in public management and active citizen participation in transportation development. We understand that transforming transportation requires joint efforts which is why we have established working groups with key stakeholders to analyze necessary regulatory reforms for passenger and freight transport. Additionally, we are working on a draft law that will strengthen our national port system and provide legal certainty in this sector, ensuring the presence of more and better operators. Let me be clear, this is not just about Guatemala or its people. Our country sits at a strategic crossroads in the Americas. By modernizing our communication infrastructure, we can unlock immense opportunities, strengthening regional integration will facilitate trade across North, Central, and South America. Enhancing our supply chains, already under extraordinary strain, will help stabilize consumer prices. By improving connectivity, we can position Guatemala as a prime destination for business looking to relocate operations from Asia, bringing them closer to their consumers and closer to home. In an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, Guatemala’s location, coupled with our enduring partnership with the United States, gives us a lasting competitive edge. But to fully capitalize on it, we must make strategic and significant investments in modernizing our railroads and ports. Ladies and gentlemen, the strength of a democracy should not only be measured by the quality of its institutions, but also by its people’s quality of life. The transformation of transportation is a global challenge that unites us all. Guatemala reaffirms its commitment to advancing toward a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient transportation system. We are convinced that only through cooperation and forward-looking vision, we can achieve our objectives. I appreciate this space for dialog and reiterate Guatemala’s commitment to build the transportation system of the future, together. Thank you very much. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Mr. President, you made a very good case, but I would like you to drill down and give us a story that really shows that connection of the importance of transport in Guatemala, and tell us one example that really solidifies what you’ve been saying in a story. Please, go ahead.

[Bernardo Arévalo] This is something I learned from my wife. She is an MD and a specialist in public health care project management. When we were getting to know each other, she was sharing with me the role that she was doing at the time. She was telling me how important it was to provide roads in rural areas that provide access to people who are now disconnected, you couldn’t reach by car their villages because of the impact in health. I remember she shared with me how women that were in the process of labor and suddenly had some sort of problems that required urgent medical care in these villages needed to be brought to the next public or private health care provider in a town across ravines, and hills, and everything, sitting in a chair that was tied to the forehead of a man in the community, a process that took hours and that often meant that lives were lost because of the time spent in the transportation. Something that could have been prevented if there was a very simple road connecting people and allowing people to have access to health. That for me is a very clear example of how transportation and roads can change the lives of people.

[Femi Oke] As I was doing my research on you, Mr. President, I heard this phrase often, “He loves transportation, he’s really into transport.” It’s quite an unusual thing to say about a President or a Head of State of a country. In the UK, when I grew up, often people who are enthusiastic for transport are teased for being a little bit nerdy. But look at us now. Look where we got to. I just wondered if I could do a little bit of psychoanalysis on you… [Audience laughing] [Femi Oke] And ask you… [Bernardo Arévalo] You don’t want to go in there. [Audience laughing] [Femi Oke] Why do you love transport so much?

[Bernardo Arévalo] Well, I didn’t play with trains when I was a kid. I can tell you that. But when I was a young boy and I was living in Mexico City with my family, it was the time when the metro in Mexico City was being built, the first metro. I remember it as an era of public excitement all over and all around because people were seeing the metro as a sign of modernity, of prosperity, of progress. There was hype about it. Then as I had the opportunity to travel around the world, I was always able to see and establish this correlation between the well-being of people, the level of progress that you have in a city, in a region, or in a country, and the quality of the transportation infrastructure. Good airports, railways, metro systems, public transportation. For me, it became very clear that the fact that as a country we have failed to invest in infrastructure development for so many decades is one explanation of why we have such worrying levels of poverty and exclusion of people from the economic cycle. I thought, and all of us here, in my government, and with all partners in the private sector and civil society, that this is the time to begin a journey that we know that will take decades, but if we don’t start it now, we will never get there.

[Femi Oke] As a keynote speaker, it is your duty to inspire us for the next two days. In a sentence, how would you suggest that we drive change and deliver solutions?

[Bernardo Arévalo] Oh, well, you see, this is very easy because here you have a government that is very clear of the challenges, very clear of the need, and very determined to begin working on those. You, transport specialists around the world, are our hope to make this vision and dreams come true for the benefit of our people. So, we count on you. I hope that you have a very productive meeting in the next two days. [Applause] [Femi Oke] Thank you. Thank you. President Bernardo Arévalo, thank you for being our keynote speaker for the very beginning of this 22nd edition of Transforming Transportation. Have a great day. [Bernardo Arévalo] Thank you, Femi, and good luck to everybody. Bye-bye.

[Femi Oke] How do you follow the President of Guatemala? Who wants that job? Frannie Léautier. We’re with you. Thank you for your service. Partner, CEO, SouthBridge Investment, Rwanda. Frannie, I know you can handle this. You are going to start off our first plenary. Frannie, please come up. Thank you. Welcome. [Applause]

[Frannie Léautier] Thank you, Femi, for setting me up. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. It’s wonderful to be here in Washington to see friends, Ani, Guang, others, Nicola, Ben, and others in the audience. I’ve been working in transportation, I would say all my life, actually, having studied it and worked on sites and so on. It’s very exciting to be here today to offer this keynote for a theme that I think is really important, because what we are to talk about in this session is capacity, governance, and innovation for implementation. So, I wanted to just perhaps come back to something that the President of Guatemala said. What has struck me about transformation is that transport is actually the sector that delivers transformation. As we plan for a livable future, how we design and implement transportation systems will shape the world we live in as it has done historically. Transforming transport is not just about moving people and goods from point A to point B, but it’s about enhancing our quality of life. It’s about connecting people and places, and ensuring accessibility for all. But today, especially as we look at the systems we have with us, even our devices, transport is also about moving data and ideas. It has always done that, but now it’s doing that in a much faster way. We stand at a pivotal moment where capacity, governance, and innovation are driving transformation. And that transformation could refine mobility for future generations. I couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop than the one you see here. This is Dakar. That’s the BRT in Dakar. You see a young woman on a bicycle. Within that photo, you see everything from the charging stations you need, the electric transport, the people-powered transport, and all the systems that interconnect. Let me talk then, about the first item that we need in place, which is capacity as the backbone of transportation. While we often think of capacity in terms of physical infrastructure, roads, and railways, airports, when you read any transport journal, that’s what they mean by capacity. But capacity is also about creating systems that work efficiently as demand grows and changes. True capacity is about developing a bold, future-focused vision for transport. What will successful transport be in the next 10, 20, 50 years? Will it be electric? Will it be multimodal? Will it be integrated with data or even extend into space? Because now we have to think of Earth connecting to space. Setting a vision provides direction for policy, for investment, and collaboration, all driving towards a common goal. But setting the vision is just the beginning. Moving from vision to reality requires collaboration. Transport is a complex system. It touches every part of society, and its success hinges on collaboration between government, between businesses, between communities, and indeed, with the investment community. Take Copenhagen as an example. It’s a city that transformed itself into one of the world’s most bike friendly places through many years of collaboration. How did they do it? By aligning incentives, investments, and regulations, they were able to create a city which has become a model for sustainability, and in particularly, sustainable mobility. So, the lesson is very clear. Capacity and skills for collaboration are essential for successful transformation. We also talk about Denmark saying, how can all of us become Denmark? Because they have this unique governance framework. It turns out it delivers a lot in transportation as well. I’ll share with you an Akan proverb from the Akan language, “Ti Koro Nko Agyina,” which means one head or person does not hold council, which means, especially in transport, we have to work together. So, governance is absolutely key, and collaborative governance. Second, I’ll turn to skills. Successful transport transformation requires more than construction skills. I grew up studying engineering and worked on construction sites, but as I grew into the sector, I learned that not only do you have to have the skills to run a construction site, but you need to integrate infrastructure with incentives and regulations. Singapore has an approach to managing congestion through dynamic road pricing, and it has a world-class metro system illustrating the skills you need to optimize existing infrastructure with intelligent technology, reducing the need to expand capacity, because Singapore doesn’t have a lot of land, and they don’t need to add new lanes. They manage with what they have. So, Singapore’s government developed its the capacity to implement a comprehensive strategy and put in place an exceptional team of highly efficient and skilled people to develop that affordable transport system. The skilled people had skills in the state-of-the-art infrastructure design. That’s how they got the metro system. They also had the ability to design financial incentives. They could bring in affordable fares. They brought in discounts for seniors and students, but they also used a skilled workforce to implement regulations targeting car ownership through efficient taxes and road pricing. Paris, with its 15-minute city, I was very proud to be among the jurors who are reviewing Paris for the WRI, Ross Center for [Sustainable] Cities. Its 15-minute city has done a similar transformation. These are models that have worked. Capacity and skills for comprehensive, integrated approaches that link policy, infrastructure, and engagement of communities and businesses. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where I come from, had to use very similar talents to deal not only with congestion, but also safety and expansion of the transport system, while at the same time managing debt sustainability, which many countries are grappling with. The fact that it could do this while bringing in BRT and the very first electric train connecting Dar es Salaam to Dodoma is a tribute to expanded internal capacity. What kind of skills do we need for successful transport projects? First, setting clear goals and tracking progress. Second, project management for time, budget, procurement and resources. Third, long-term financial planning to secure investments. Fourth, engaging communities to make sure transport works for everyone. And fifth, using data to make decisions. Gone is a time where you can decide in the absence of data. I think now that is a key skill. So, these skills ensure that projects are not only completed on time, but also contribute to sustainable mobility. What are the other success stories that have gone from vision to reality? Cities like Bogotá in Colombia, with its TransMilenio bus system, they show how transport innovation can reduce congestion and pollution while improving the quality of life. In Dakar, Senegal, where you see the BRT system, it integrates electricity and urban planning to create multimodal spaces for work, leisure, and transport. These examples demonstrate how vision, collaboration in the right skills, can turn ambitious ideas into successful systems. But they also demonstrate the need for interdisciplinary skills and capabilities for successful transformation. The implementation of the Dakar BRT demonstrates the importance of not only technical and formal skills, but also of internships, of learning on the job and continuous education. This is akin to what Germany’s Industry 4.0 Initiative, which has equipped workers with the skills needed for the green revolution in transport and other sectors. By offering apprenticeships, technical certifications, and specialized training, they have built a workforce that is ready for the challenges of modern transport. When I visited Shanghai with President Wolfensohn, I was impressed by how the city government agencies worked seamlessly to leverage existing local capacity. Through the National Accounting Institute there, they simplified their procurement rules and other implementation procedures. In fact, most local governments in China have the capacity to contract directly with local universities and institutes. Many countries could learn from this experience. A World Bank project we financed in rural China, even proudly displayed “Finance by the World Bank” on the house of one of the residents. When I asked what was the most helpful contribution of the World Bank beyond finance, they said, support to build skills to transform their procurement system. So, procurement made a big difference in China. Building local skills and creating jobs is also key because transport transformation presents an opportunity to create good green jobs, from engineers developing electric vehicles to urban planners designing walkable cities, to the demand for skilled workers, which is growing in every sector. Countries like the UK have seen job booms in manufacturing and battery technology through the push for electric vehicles. We must invest in education and training programs to equip the workforce of tomorrow to ensure successful transformation. Public-private partnerships can help us develop the right curricula that meet the needs of the transport sector. The Nelson Mandela Institutes of Science and Technology in Abuja, Nigeria, Arusha, Tanzania, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, also are developing youth with requisite skills for this future. They work in partnership with the private sector and government to provide research questions and internships that subject academic knowledge to the reality of today’s challenges. These institutes are modeled after MIT and are known for the best data scientists and AI experts in Africa, in addition to the traditional engineering, management, and finance skills. But all of this wouldn’t work if we don’t have good governance, which is key to transport transformation. It’s not just about creating policies, it’s about fostering collaboration, ensuring accountability, and bringing together the right players. Copenhagen’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2025 shows how local governments, businesses, and citizens can collaborate to create a sustainable transport ecosystem. Governance has to be forward-thinking, and this is a hard one, because most of our political systems look at short-term fixes, but we need long-term solutions to ensure systems can adapt to evolving technologies. The role of the transport expert is to manage in between these changing political cycles and put in place those long-term strategies for evolving technologies. The opening of the School of Governance in Kigali, Rwanda, is an example of how countries can prepare for a transformative future by putting in place the types of skills-building program that will get us there. This is modeled after what Singapore did. Finally, let me turn to innovation. Innovation is the spark that turns vision into reality. From electric vehicles to hyper-loop technology, innovation has the potential to transform transport. But innovation must be implemented thoughtfully. Spiro, a company in Togo and operating elsewhere in Africa, has revolutionized transport with innovations like battery swapping and distributed charging stations. Similarly, Finland is leading the way by integrating various transport services into one seamless system through a single app, but innovation alone isn’t enough. Successful implementation is key. Mobility as a service, which integrates transport options into a unified system, is one example of how technology can revolutionize how we move. BasiGo in Kenya is a good example of a company that does this, hiring data scientists, finance experts, and engineers. These examples show the range of skills needed at the company level for a successful rollout. So, let me bring it all together now and conclude on a future of mobility. To transform transport, we must work at the intersection of capacity, governance, and innovation. We need optimized infrastructure, governance that encourages collaboration, and innovative solutions that adapt to society’s changing needs. By setting clear visions, fostering collaboration and implementing holistic strategies, we can build transportation systems that are future-proofed. The future of transport is in our hands. By working together, governments, businesses, investors, and communities, we can create systems that not only move people, but also move cities, regions, and nations towards a bigger and brighter, more sustainable future. I’ll close with a Swahili quote, “Fanikio Huzaa Fanikio,” which means “success breeds success.” I believe we can get there. Thank you very much. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Thank you to Frannie for setting up plenary one, “Capacity, Governance, Innovation for Implementation.” I’m going to invite the panelists to come onto stage and find their seating and their name tags. Please, come on and can we just take a seat there. I will tell you that this plenary will be partially conducted in French. If you need help with that, there are interpretation devices at the back of the room. The only thing I would ask is do not take it to coffee with you, bring them back. They are very, very expensive. If you don’t bring them back, I don’t get paid. All right, very good. Are we finding our seats? Renée, I feel like that might be my seat. Thank you. We’re capacity building together. Fantastic. All right. Good morning, panel. It’s so good to see you. I’m going to greet you one by one. There’s a microphone on the table. Do use it when I speak to you because sometimes it’s exciting to talk and we forget we have an audience and we have to talk to them as well. I’m going to let you know who we have on stage. If you want to take part in this conversation, a couple of ways, if you’re doing it online, there’s a live chat, and we will follow that, bring that conversation into the room. Also, you can use the hashtag #TTDC25. #TTDC25. Normally, we trend in DC with that hashtag no pressure. All right. Panelists, it’s so good to see to you, welcome. I’m going to greet you one by one. Minister José Tonato is the Minister of Living, Environment and Sustainable Development in Benin City. Welcome, it is good to see you. Sitting next to the Minister, we have Ydanis Rodriguez, Commissioner of Transport for New York City, USA. Welcome, good to have you. Would you actually say something back to me on your microphone? Then, we can do two things at the same time, which is… Perfect. Good to have you. Test the microphone and greet you. Juan Carlos Muñoz, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications in Chile. Thank you for being part of the team and plenary one. Good to have you. Welcome. Thank you. Trust me, the microphones are working, so you can say hello on the microphones. That would be wonderful. If you tap, the gentleman in the sound booth gets quite upset. Then, we have Renée Amilcar. Renée, it’s so lovely to see you. Renée is the UITP President and General Manager of OC Transpo in Canada. Good to have you. And finally, we have—

[Renée Amilcar] Good morning. [Femi Oke] Good morning. Finally, we have Sarath BS Abayakoon, Governor of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Welcome. [Sarath BS Abayakoon] Thank you.

[Femi Oke] So, this is just to get a sense, plenary, of what you’re thinking right now. If the World Bank gives you a blank check, you can spend any amount of money for implementation, what would you spend it on? Sarath, what would you spend it on?

[Sarath BS Abayakoon] I would spend it on capacity development in my country. We really need that because of the transport issues that we have, and we have identified areas where we need the development. [Femi Oke] Okay, capacity development. So, let’s put on that. Renée, what would you spend it on? Any amount of money? [Renée Amilcar] I would inject bold to politicians. [Femi Oke] Minister Muñoz. [Juan Carlos Muñoz] I would probably spend a lot on making our rural roads safer. That’s where most of our people die, in rural roads, not in urban roads, and also in enhanced public transport in our cities. [Femi Oke] Ydanis. [Ydanis Rodriguez] I will invest around Vision Zero, which is a 3E. The first “E” is about “Engineer” so that we can have enough resources to reimagine the use of public space to invest in our street to make it safer. The second E is the E of “Educational.” Educating all, upper class, middle class, working class, the academic institution, the private institution, for everyone to understand the role that they can play to make our streets safer and to make educating the drivers, for them to understand that when they get behind the wheel, they are responsible to protect the most vulnerable, the pedestrians and cyclists. The third “E” is to have enough resources for enforcement, working with the police department so that those individuals, they are responsible to contribute to the day of 1.2 million people who die every year in our roads, those drivers should be accountable. Making the street safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and even for drivers.

[Femi Oke] Minister Tonato, what would you spend any amount of money on immediately? You get the check in your account tomorrow. What would you spend it on?

[José Tonato] Thank you. Given all of the efforts that have all already been made in the area of infrastructure, I would invest in sustainable and smart transportation. That would take into account Benin’s context. In Benin, we have a lot of taxi motorcycles. I want to move towards a mass transport system that is smart, resilient to climate change and low carbon. You need governance platforms to help optimize those investments. Thank you.

[Femi Oke] I like that nobody hesitated. I didn’t rehearse this. I didn’t ask this question beforehand, and you all had instant answers. So, it’s not a vision that is a problem. It’s like, “Where’s the money? Then we can do it.” Renée, I love where you sit because you’ve got a good sense of what is happening in transportation around the world and where perhaps the gaps are between vision and let’s make this happen. What would you share with us about that viewpoint that you have globally?

[Renée Amilcar] Thank you very much, and that’s why I said we need to be bold because the money, it’s very important. I’m with you, but I think we need a vision to have a sustainable solution for the transportation. We need to be able to plan in advance. We need as well to make sure that when we take decisions, it’s for the future. It’s not only to have some votes during an election. So, this is unfortunately what I see most of the time. A good example is when the pandemic hit, we know that we lost a lot of ridership. Unfortunately, the finance is behind because we don’t trust enough in public transit. We should be able to say regardless, we need to invest on public transport. I think if we can have this blood inside us to say public transport should be at the top of our agenda, we’ll find the money, we’ll work together to find the money, and we’ll make it. So, we need absolutely to believe this is a vision, this is planning in advance, and this is the way that we can save the planet.

[Femi Oke] Minister Muñoz, you smiled when Renée said, “Well find the money.” I was like, “Can I tap into that smile?”

[Juan Carlos Muñoz] I would like to react also to what Renée was saying. She is very clear that the pandemic was really terrible for sustainable transport. People were reluctant of using our public transport, and most cities ended up, the pandemic, with less ridership that we started. But now we have a new challenge which should lead us towards increasing our ridership, the strength of public transport, which is the decarbonization goals. Here, we have an opportunity to really align the dots and take this very important crisis towards making our cities more sustainable. It’s very nice that the decarbonization goals are very aligned with making public transport more appealing to biking more, to walking more, to what we’ve been discussing in this auditorium for 20 years. This is what the decarbonization goals are asking us to do. And much better, what we can tell from Santiago is that if you bet into making our public transport electric, for instance, it also makes public transport more and more attractive as well. People not only love the bus because it’s electric, but because they can charge their phone. They love the air conditioning. They love that this doesn’t make vibrations. They love that it’s not very noisy. There are a lot of elements here that make it very interesting to move ahead very aggressively towards reaching our decarbonization goals through making public transport better.

[Femi Oke] Minister Muñoz, Ydanis, talked about biking more, walking more. That totally resonates for you for New York, correct? That’s something Ydanis, for you in New York, that you’re thinking about, how do you make the city more bikeable, more walkable, and implementing that?

[Ydanis Rodriguez] I think that the question today is not in New York City, but it’s a global conversation about how do we move people? And no doubt, vehicles will continue being a motor transportation. By New York City, we have 4 million people who take the trains every day, and we have a million people who take the every day. I was born and raised in 1965. My father had a bike, but the car became a symbol of progress, and people thought that biking was for poor people. When I went to Shanghai to food and dash in my last semester, in 1962, they had a bike lane, and I was told, “Change your dollars, get 350 yuan, go and buy a bike.” So, I think that what people had to realize… We have different weathers in different parts of the world. In a city that is so hot, it’s difficult to think about only relying on biking. But trains, busses, walking, biking, and vehicle don’t contradict each other. It’s about giving options. In 2023 in New York City, we had 200 million bike trips. When you look… Those of you, I know that most of you have been in New York City. Think about Times Square. Times Square was a storage for cars in the 1980s. Well, last year, Shakira held a concert of 40,000 people, and it’s more space to walk. I feel that even from the World Bank and any major global institution in the private sector, if you think about investing in public transportation, it’s not just giving money. It’s that we had to realize that Katrina, Sandy, Maria, Ida, they were natural disasters that we lived. How can we leave the society better for the present and future generation? It has to come with global leaders to think about how can we reimagine the use of public space. Led by Jean Todt and the Minister of Transportation, Mohammed VI in Morocco. We were there, many of us. It was a conversation about how can we improve safety. Crashes are an epidemic. We eradicated COVID, but 1.1 million people are dying every day in the world. Leaders from government, private, academic, advocates, we have to come together to say the world of those 1.1 million people, beautiful loved one, family, friends, that they are dying every day because of reckless drivers.

[Femi Oke] You’ve anticipated our plenary that is happening after the break, Ydanis, where we’re talking about road safety. So, you’ve connected the dots for us. I’m going to push you a little bit more because I didn’t ask you necessarily about why this was important. This conversation is how. How do we do this? We’ve got beyond the... Everybody here gets the why. But the how. And it’s not just about New York City, it’s about what we do as cities. What can you... I suppose what I’m asking for is a strategy. Go ahead.

[Ydanis Rodriguez] It’s bringing sectors together. It’s bringing different groups together. Is that... I’ve been living in New York City since 1983, but I’m in the face of equity because at 55 Water Street, from where I lead this department of 6,000 men and women, the largest department that any city has in the United States, I used to work there doing sandwiches in 1983. What I’m doing as a commission of the OT, the job that I have after being a council member in New York City is bringing sectors together. It’s going to the private sector. It’s going to the academic institution. It’s working with Feniosky Peña-Mora, who is the first Latino who is the President, or the Latino Civil Engineer Association, the Civil Engineer Association in New York City is DCAS. I have a great friend that there used to be in DCAS. For me, it’s about changing the culture. For me, it’s about when I promote biking in New York City, biking, when it comes to working class, it’s more delivery workers. There’s a fight because people see a lot of essential workers who are delivering the food, are the ones who are causing problems. What they don’t think is that 84% of people in New York City, they place the order once a week through Amazon, UPS, and FedEx, and 24% place the order four times a week. What is that I’m doing with the support of the Mayor of New York City? Bringing sectors together, persuading the private sector, that in the government, that we have to put the money in the right place and investing in our transportation, our busses, our trains, protecting cyclists and pedestrians should be an agenda not only with the transportation authority, Family for Safe Streets, the advocates, but it should be led by the academic and the private sector, too.

[Renée Amilcar] Ydanis, I’m with you, if I may. How we do that? We need a vision, as I said. We need to plan the future. We need funding for sure, but we need to work together. And this is why the UITP, the International Union of Public Transit, we work with a lot of people. We work with the private and the public sectors, with authorities, operators, all the stakeholders are together because we want to be able to work together to have the same vision. And even if, let’s say, I know that I said first that the politicians need to be bold because when it’s not the right, let’s say, elected official war here, we should continue to... If we have a good planning, if we have a good vision, we should continue to just move on. Maybe I can give a good example in Ottawa, where I work. At the beginning, we just finished one of the very, very big transformations of the city. We are in the phase two. So, we wanted to bring LRT in Ottawa because federal workers used to come and it was jam-packed daily. The politicians over there, the mayor, decided at the time that it could be great to have LRTs. Unfortunately, we know what happened in 2020 with the COVID. Those workers are still at home now, but with the new mayor, we will continue to build the LRT. For sure, we don’t need this mass transportation anymore because people are working from home. But the thing is, because the vision was clear, we will continue to build up so people will come on the future and the system will be ready. So, this is where you have a good vision and you can build for the future, even if today, that costs a lot, for sure. We are looking for money to be able to sustain that. At least now, we know that for the future will be very bright.

[Femi Oke] Minister Tonato, you had a very bold vision that you shared with us immediately. If I had endless amounts of money, this is what I would do. It focused on smart cities, on low carbon transport. So, I’m really intrigued. We are really intrigued as to how do you implement that? It sounded so good. How’s it going?

[José Tonato] Thank you very much. First and foremost, an observation is made. We start from an infrastructure in order to move you need roads, you need paths, and you need transportation assets. This year, we have made some significant efforts from the infrastructural standpoint, urban infrastructure, in order to link zones between themselves, between each other, in order to be able to operate in the city where you have trading, where you have shops, where you have housing. You have to be able to move. How do you organize transportation in order for each person to avail themselves of something that is not too complicated? When no one regulates, when there’s no regulation, when everything is chaotic, well, budget doesn’t work. What we are scaffolding now with the support of the World Bank, the Urban Mobility Project, Sustainable Mobility, Grand Nokoué is fundamentally based on green. An entire fleet of vehicles, multimodal vehicles, integrated public multimodal vehicles, an entire fleet that will, of course, involve busses in part, of waterway transportation, and of course, other modalities, because in Cotonou, there are approximately 600,000 moto-taxis. Setting up a specific special governance structure in order to manage that mobility is crucial. Also, to be able to develop funding, which involves, of course, a good operation of the state budget, but also the integration of a private sector that has to be mobilized fully and play its role. Also, bring the parties and actors, stakeholders together around the table so that there may be a discussion with the private sector, the public sector, the beneficiaries, the associations, the CSOs, the populations, in order to see that there would be a rather resilient apparatus, and I would even add an inclusive apparatus. First of all, a mechanism that will be based on a first phase, a pilot phase, where we will test the system we want to create. Of course, if this seems conclusive, we will go to scale. The context of Benin, Grand Nokoué is approximately 2 million people. That’s the population. Five to the first one commune, and the four other communes, each one of them comes to the center, Cotonou, and goes back home in the evening. That means horrendous traffic, horrible traffic. And so, not only infrastructures, of course, are crucial, but by setting up these infrastructures, it is as though you were attracting people or attracting the purchase of cars, of automobiles, and inciting people to buy cars. If it is not regulated, if it is not structured, if there are no alternate proposals for transportation because people who have transportation, first and foremost, have to be comfortable, now you’re going to leave your individual car somewhere in a car park that is going to be safe, that is fine. But the security standpoint, the safety standpoint is very important. In fact, it’s much safer than my own personal car. All those ingredients together in a special sort of alchemy where people have interactions, and there are interactions. This is what allows you to optimize the public transportation system. And then, this situation really is a clear transition towards electrical transportation, waterway transportation, but busses as well. And this is what we want to do within the framework of the Grand Nokoué Sustainable Urban Mobility Project. Thank you.

[Femi Oke] Thank you. Merci, Monsieur. Minister. Sarath, I’m thinking about your province in Sri Lanka and building local capacity, which is in the beautiful vocabulary that we like to use when we work in policy-making, but tell us an actual story that shows either the gap in implementation between what you would like to happen and what is happening or successful capacity building. What would that story be? What would that example be that takes us to your province.

[Sarath BS Abayakoon] Yeah, thank you. [Femi Oke] And the microphone is just there. Thank you. [Sarath BS Abayakoon] If I am to start with a small introduction of the country. Country is a small island below the southern tip of India, the area of 25,000 square miles and the population of 22 million. So, the population density is about 900 persons per square mile in general. In the major cities, it has gone up to about 34,000 sometimes in Colombo. Where I come from in Kandy, it’s about 10,000. That is the urban mobility, people have moved to the cities. Where I come from, and also the administrative structure, there are nine provinces. I’m heading one of the provinces, Central Province. Then, there are 25 districts, and then the central government. One of the most difficult issues is that these entities are not working together. Some of the entities are not working together. For example, we have to train transport experts in urban planning and then train land use experts in transport area. That’s one of the examples. So, these areas do not work together and people separate. That is a hindrance in our development of transport. [Femi Oke] It sounds like an easy fix. Tell me why I’m being too simplistic. You just move them around, right? [Sarath BS Abayakoon] Well, there are central government and provincial governments. There are some issues, regulations. So that is where the problems are. [Femi Oke] Yes, of course, yes. [Sarath BS Abayakoon] And then, when it comes to my own area in Central Province, we have this KMTT, Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal project, which is being done now. It’s expected to be completed in two years’ time. However, that’s World Bank supported. That project is going on, but then there are peripheral issues that need to be addressed. For the project to successful in the country, in the city, there are a lot of peripheral issues to be addressed. Again, we need a lot of expertise and also physical things that we have to do, some satellite stations have to be developed, and then the bus rerouting has to be done. As expected, how do you get people from private transport to the busses? So, we need to improve the bus services. And so, all those things are— [Femi Oke] Is that a question that is being answered? Because that would be the implementation, wouldn’t it? [Sarath BS Abayakoon] Yeah, that’s right. [Femi Oke] What’s the answer? [Sarath BS Abayakoon] We are trying to get that. We are trying to get, again, some support to develop the satellite stations and others. And internally, we have started training people. And also, Kandy is a major tourist attraction. So, improving tourism in Kandy and taking them from one place to another, the routes are being developed now. We are doing it at our level. [Femi Oke] Minister Muñoz has a question for you. [Juan Carlos Muñoz] No, I wanted to, in some way, complement what Sarath was saying. I think that when we’re trying to make an alternative to private car attractive, it’s very easy to go and take our mind towards one particular transport mode. I think that’s the very wrong approach. We need to understand that what people need is mobility as a whole, to reach from home to work. And that, for many, won’t be through a bike, won’t be through metro, won’t be through bus, won’t be through walking but towards the combination of them. So, I think a very important goal in ourselves or to ourselves is to divide our groups into people that want one mode or another. When we’re dealing with a very important challenge here, it’s to make cars less attractive. We need to understand that that will be achieved only if we look at the system as a whole, not only in terms of transport modes, but also as a metropolis. We need to understand that we won’t be able to solve the problem if we only focus on one part of the city either. When we do this, we’ve been discussing this, and probably what I’m saying has been said in the same seat for probably 5, 10, 15 years in this specific conference that I have had the pleasure to attend. A very interesting new kid in the room is the electric bus. I really think that could be a game changer in some sense because it provides a sense of modernization regarding the public transport system, a sense that the user feels like they are really investing in me, which in combination with bikes, in combination with great walking and with great metros, could provide a tip towards making public transport more attractive. In our case, in Santiago, Santiago de Chile is not the richest city in the world. There are cities that are probably three, four times richer than us. It’s not the one with more inhabitants. There are probably cities with three, four times more inhabitants than Santiago. Still, we have the largest electric bus fleet in the world. We’re very proud, and the results have been outstanding. People love our busses. People have the sense that the city is modernizing and that the public transport becomes, in some sense, with our metro, which is great, a positive attribute of the city. I think, and it’s very interesting, it has shown very resilient, too. A week ago, we had a major blackout of the whole country, electric blackout. Still, our busses were able to keep on moving, and we were able even to charge them with diesel generators during the night. The electric buses not only are proving to being a great mobility solution, not as expensive as maybe you can think of, because they are cheaper to operate, cheaper to maintain than a diesel one. Also, they have been proved to be very resilient in case of a blackout like we saw last week in Santiago, in Chile, really.

[Femi Oke] Yes, please, Sarath. I’m just going to interject for one moment. We have two microphones in the room. If you wanted to talk to plenary one, now is the time to stand behind either the front one or the back one. Please, go ahead and do that. I will see you and then bring you into the conversation in a moment. Sarath, please.

[Sarath BS Abayakoon] Just to add a little bit, according to when we do this planning, we need to have the stakeholder interventions, and use of stakeholders, and interviewing and all that. I see that in some of the project, it’s not happening. Probably it happens during the project time. When the project is over, then we move to a different project, and in that project, we probably will not... Those are separate. So, the problem we have, I have noted in our countries that there’s no continuous involvement of stakeholders in the process. So that is a problem.

[Renée Amilcar] This is where I think the UITP can help because this association, which is a member-led association, is very focused on how we can work better together, how we can network, how we can advocate for transit. And by having all the stakeholders in the same room, I think it’s possible to have this vision and to make sure that after that, we can continue to have public transit at the forefront of our decision.

[Ydanis Rodriguez] But I think that, again, I know that this is a great audience of leaders across the globe. I think that from institutions such as the World Bank, that have a lot of influence among many governments, we had to change the culture. We come from places that... Think about the United States, any movies made by Hollywood always had a car as a symbol of progress. I feel that what our generation, it doesn’t matter our age, are responsible, is to push everyone to think outside the box, to know that if you think about creating better conditions, investing more in the infrastructure that from major financial institution, you guys have influence in many governments. As those people come to institutions such as the World Bank, you need to be a leader in bringing that conversation. As I said, the natural disaster that is hitting our planet is so strong. We have in the future of our children, grandchildren, a risk. I think that if you think about how do we visualize the future of our society, definitely the car ownership. Thinking about that the street is private access and not public access. At New York City DOT, we are responsible to manage 27% of the land on New York City, 6,000 miles, 800 bridges. Seth Contreras, who is back there, is part of the thing of micromobility. What they’re doing right now is working with the private sector, giving opportunities through pilot projects to those who want to be an EV charging station, to come and demonstrate if that can work. As soon as we went through the pilot project, then we changed the rule in New York City, allowing private sector that wants to bring EV charges in the sidewalk for them to respond to the market. I think that it’s about changing. It’s about changing the perspective. It’s about understanding that, yes, people use cars, and there’s not a war against the car manufacturers. Even they, they have to be accountable. The same trucks that are built in Europe. They come with different sensors and technologies than the trucks that come to the United States. We also had to change law of the federal standards so that those who are driving the big trucks, they need to look on how they can protect the pedestrians. The tech community, the government, the private sector, everyone has to come on board. I feel that if we listen to the new generation, those 30, 40 years old, what they saying is about, yes, we can have a car, but we can use a Zipcar, a car sharing. Yes, biking is not only for delivery workers. In New York City, if you go through any place, and all of you, most of you have been, who are biking in New York City? Upper class, middle class, people with PhD, master and MBA. We had to educate now our working-class community for them to understand that they buy half an hour every day, they live an average of six more years. It’s about bringing the benefit, promoting that, yes, you can have a car, but yet because you have a car, it doesn’t make you better than anybody else. In many countries, in the Caribbean, if you are in government, you have to be in six or 10 pick-up cars in order to do campaigning, because if you don’t show power, your people will not vote for you. I think, again, it’s about changing the culture, working with international financial institution for them to support the country, to invest in infrastructure that should be bringing safer for pedestrian, for cyclists, and even for drivers too.

[Femi Oke] All right. So, I’m going to remind our plenary that our focus is capacity and government for implementation. You are brilliant on sharing your challenges. A plus. But getting to the nitty-gritty of the implementation, which is why it’s so hard. I’m going to... So, just bear with me one minute. I have a lot of questions online. Minister Tonato, I’m going to give the first one to you. It comes from Maureen. Hello, Maureen, who is watching from Kenya. “Transport and infrastructure should be long lasting. How do we ensure that this happens, especially in Africa?”

[José Tonato] Thank you. As I was saying, this discussion, and I was also attending a number of other discussions, makes me convinced of something. Transportation is always thought of upstream. Urban planning, upstream. When you have a city plan and a specific blueprint for the city, transportation will not be, as a beginning, a problem that will have to be solved. We don’t see it that way. But the different sections of the city have to be connected. The different functions have to exist. There have to be relations between those sections. To optimize transportation, thinking upstream. Infrastructurally speaking, one has to be organized in order to transport as many people as possible so that they may be moved around with as little infrastructure as possible and as little assets and money as possible. I always come back to Cotonou. When you have a little moped or motorcycle, that is all good and well. It works, but you’re transporting one person, just one person. One person allowing another person to move. And these little mopeds or vehicles emit gas. Is that sustainable for the environment? That is the question one must ask oneself. We have had several experiences. Electrifying motorcycles, that has been done elsewhere. Why did it not work? I even saw an operation where mopeds and vehicles were crushed. There are some of those moto-taxis in Cotonou. They have two liters of fuel. To do so, they need half a day. They’re given electrical motorcycles. They have a capacity of about 70 kilometers, and the batteries are stored in poor conditions, in very bad conditions. All of a sudden, there is a breakdown, the tire, you lose something, you lose a part. Of course, the thermal motorcycles are coming back, little by little, because the electrical ones haven’t worked because people are saying it is not sustainable to use electric motorcycles because this and that has happened. There aren’t enough charging stations, etcetera. Setting up an apparatus, a specific system where there is, of course, capacity creation and building, installing an infrastructure, but also to charge batteries. All of this goes hand in hand. All of these elements evolve hand in hand, simultaneously. Infrastructures, of course, paths for pedestrians, for bicycle riders. We have to have the appropriate cycling paths. All of this has to be done because the problem is that the car is a symbol of success. As soon as you can do so, you buy a car. We know that is very true in African countries. Even those that do not really have the means to do so will try as much as possible to buy a car. Where they might buy an old car, and those cars will pollute because they are in very poor shape, in very bad shape, they can’t have more than one year of use, really. All of that waste is waste that is created and, of course, piled on top of other piles of waste. Waste after waste, after waste. If people cannot go out of their home and use a transportation method, because they might be late, they can actually move and be on time with sustainable infrastructures. That is what we want to create, set up, and then have an electrical bus network and then, a waterway transportation system, because Grand Nokoué, that’s 16 communes around the Nokoué Lake, and everyone goes to Cotonou through two roads that are, of course, congested and, of course, there are bottlenecks all day long, pretty much, or 50% of the day or more. All of this is done in a sporadic fashion, and it is not well distributed. Some people use the lakes, some people use their mopeds, motorcycles, little busses, all sorts of funny types of vehicles in order to go from one area to the next. We have to offer a better organized and more sustainable solution and especially convert people, as it were, gradually, little by little with sustainable transportation.

[Renée Amilcar] I will retort to your benefit in French, if you don’t mind, because this is important to me. How do you implement? How do you set that up? How do you execute it? Do you agree? As a Minister, you need some audacity. You have to make some decisions, and that means that you have to have some courage. Of course, car drivers won’t be very pleased, but that is what will leave enough space for public transportation. I’m President of the International Association of Public Transportation. Those who have the means to make these decisions, like you, like yourself, and that will make sure that the future is nicer and healthier, what are you going to do? I agree with my colleague, José. Sorry, because we’re not here to have a conflict against cars or to fight against cars. We don’t want to be pitted against automobiles. We want to focus on those areas where there is too much traffic, traffic jams. I’m not against using a car, but how does this get created so that each, every person is satisfied and we can move ahead with this strategy? Of course, public transportation has to be at the front of the stage, because we see countries where there are horrible traffic jams and millions are spent and wasted. You’re spending and wasting time in your car and you’re not working. So, you have an opportunity here, Excellency, Minister, this is a challenge for you.

[José Tonato] I totally agree with you. That is the inclusive dimension of what we wish to do. Having sufficient space for everyone, enough maneuvering margin for everyone. That’s where things have to be well-organized, to guarantee sustainability towards the future. It is only thus that you may decide you’re taking your own bicycle, your own car, a little boat, the infrastructure that can frame all of this and that will make it possible to do so easily. Of course, people will choose the transportation mode that is the most comfortable for themselves, and of course, in full respect of the environment. That is what is most important. [Femi Oke] Minister Muñoz, I want to go to those two questions very quickly. [Crosstalk]. [Interpreter] [Speaking in French].

[Juan Carlos Muñoz] If you’re thinking about capacity building and how do we change things, I think that the decarbonization goals are key. I am stunned that even though the transport sector is responsible for 30% of the emissions, most of our NDCs and most of our countries have not made any kind of commitment towards reducing emissions from the transport sector. That’s a great tool to tell our citizens that we need to do it differently. I also think that we should not only put our effort in making our public transport better, our biking better, but also how to deal with the increasing number of miles driven by cars. I think that the congestion charging scheme that has been successfully implemented in many cities, and now in New York, are again a game changer. They are working well, they are being able to gather resources and to make cities work better. That’s also a tool we need to expand to working in other cities of the world.

[Femi Oke] I have two minutes and two questions. Part of that two minutes will be you asking your question. Go ahead, sir. [Christian MaCrae] Christian MaCrae, Norman MaCrae Foundation. Over 50 years, my father and I have been mainly interested in how data is publicly brainstormed, and then how is it updated in maps. Awkwardly, in the last 18 months, I found that chats and LLMs can be very good at brainstorming, but when I tried to put in your conference agenda into these LLMs, they didn’t come up with anything, probably because they didn’t have a Femi in their mindset. [Femi Oke] Sir… [Christian MaCrae] But my question is… [Femi Oke] Go ahead. [Christian MaCrae] My question is, how do we get an LLM to have read the 20 years of your conferences and then to distribute that out through DC in public places? Because I think that’s needed. [Femi Oke] Thank you for that assignment. I will get working on that one. Hello, good morning. What’s your question? [Aiden] Good morning. Hello, everyone. My name is Aiden, and my question is, what role do innovative emerging technologies like electric vehicles, green fuel solutions, or on-road charging stations play role in transforming transportation? And how can we scale and implement these solutions to underserved populations? Thank you. [Femi Oke] I’m going to take the second part because that’s on topic for this particular plenary, which is how can we scale, which is the how do we do this? Who is looking excited? Ydanis. [Ydanis Rodriguez] Yeah. [Femi Oke] It’s on. [Ydanis Rodriguez] Yeah. New York City, we always believe that we are the best. You cannot hide that one. [Femi Oke] You start the fight in the last one minute. Be prepared to fight in the coffee break.

[Ydanis Rodriguez] Definitely, we are the largest one, biggest numbers of e-charges that we’ve been putting in our streets. We’re working with the tech community, as I said, Seth Contreras is part of the team of policy. What we are doing is working with the National Grid, with the Con Ed [Consolidated Edison], because when it came to e-charges, not only what we, from the government side, want to do is about the power. Can we have Con Ed, which is the entity in New York City or the National Grid? I feel that from the academic, from the government, from the advocate, from mayors, from previous mayors to current mayors, there’s a commitment to electrify. As I said, we have former members of DCAS. DCAS is the agency that manages all the New York City public fleet. We already have major national biodistribution that they also are moving their vehicles to be electric. I think that the challenges that we have, and I don’t know in other cities, but it’s about the power from the National Grid to Con Ed, that we need to build more e-charges for vehicles. When it comes to e-bikes, we are moving into that, incentivizing more. Right now, we are putting millions of dollars in the street where we are giving 400 e-bikes in a pilot project to delivery workers for the entry change. Those bikes that they were using to the new ones that are more battery-certified in the new type of e-bike. I think that definitely it’s only one city. I think when it came to United States, and I know that this is a priority for all of us, regardless of where we are coming from, to look on how we can electrify and how to make our fleet, from government to private, more electric. I think with the Zipcar, which is the company also that we are using in our city that we want to bring... Well, we’re working to bring a shared car service. A person doesn’t have to buy the car, but to share the car. We’re working with a company also to see how they can would more shared cars being electric.

[Juan Carlos Muñoz] Excuse me. Let me mention that when we’re thinking of decarbonization, it’s very easy to go towards making our system electric. We need to also think before how do we request our transport system to demand less energy. That’s where I think that the 15-minute city, how we think of walking and biking can become really, really attractive. I think that’s part of the room that we need to look at and that very rarely our cities do. It’s very important when we turn now into electric busses about how can we allow our local cities, our small cities, to move towards electric busses as well? Because of the reasons I mentioned before. One thing that is very important into this conversation is how do we walk with the traditional “hombre camión,” the person that has been working, driving the bus for decades with his father and grandparents, and how we can help them make the transition towards electricity. They feel so super proud when they do. Now, the way we do it in Chile is we make some bidding processes where we force them to compete. Very often they win because they know the city, they have the terminals, they have the drivers, but the transition is something that we need to let them do. We need to understand that they also need the support of financial institutions to get the funding for them to build the terminals, buy or take the loans for the busses, and some energy distribution companies. The recipe for getting electric busses in all our small cities require from the government, from the regulator, to provide some framework where this combination of financial institutions, energy distribution, and the local company can work together well.

[Femi Oke] Mr. Muñoz, Ydanis, Renée, Minister Tonato, Sarath, I am taking you to the coffee break because there are more questions to be asked. You’ve got our conversation. Our thoughts started for the next two days, and we thank you for that. Your panel. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Welcome back or welcome to day 2 of Transforming Transportation, the 22nd edition. Hello to our online participants. Hello to everybody who's in the room right here in the Preston, in Washington, DC. If you're online, a couple of things that you can do to be part of this conversation because we are inclusive, is on World Bank Live, you can be in the chat, you can have the conversation. We have moderators right here in the who will talk to you. Also, you can use the hashtag #TTDC25 so that you're always in the room with us as well. The mobile app has been updated, so you can find out what is coming up next in today's program, where you should be, where you should be listening into. It has a QR code. Also on the mobile app, there is interpretation in 60 languages, but the only one they don't have is South London. I will… [Laughs]. It's an indigenous language from the Southern part of the United Kingdom, but I will help you in the coffee break if you're not too sure what I am saying. I am your conference moderator, Femi Oke. It is my pleasure to tell you that the knowledge exhibition is open and has nine booths just outside. Please, go and enjoy that during the coffee breaks and the breaks during the day. Something very special I want you to look out for, and that is an AI-powered wheelchair that is in the atrium. It comes to us via the National Transportation Center at Morgan State University. Go and check it out, because if you ever go to BWI Airport, you will see it being used there, and it gets into tricky, complicated spaces. Our development partner is FIA Foundation. Thank you for being our partner. Now, the morning, the day, our program continues. I can't think of a better way to start the day with Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank. He is better than a cup of coffee. Good morning. [Applause] [Femi Oke] Axel, when you go to conferences and you hear that first keynote conversation, in terms of what you want to hear, energy, dynamism, setting you up for the day, what is your standard? [Axel van Trotsenburg] Coffee. [Audience laughs]

[Axel van Trotsenburg] Good morning, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here. I think what I'm indeed thinking is the most important thing is how we can energize debate. This is not only here about transport, it’s anything on the development area. Of course, when people barely are waking at eight o'clock or nine o'clock, that's a challenge, but I think what we need to hear, or think about is what we are trying to accomplish with these kinds of convenings. It’s really to foster exchange, to foster learning, but also with a sharp focus, can we make a difference? Yes, or no? Therefore, I think what we need to see is not to have just nice get-togethers, but here is a whole series of ministers of transport to welcome them. But also, a lot of colleagues from across the globe are there. It is about energizing this trade. It is about impact. What we need to keep in mind is if you have a quarter of the world population [that] have not access to transport, then that's an issue. If a billion people have no access to all weather roads, that is an issue. When you look in Africa, when we need the growth agenda really picking up so that people have a chance, then you need to have those enabling environments. There is a very direct discussion about how we can do this. I think what we need to do is mobilize it, and it is ultimately then the action that needs to follow.

[Femi Oke] You see transport as being strategic when it comes to development. Can you unpack that more?

[Axel van Trotsenburg] Well, these are all the enabling ingredients for development. I think, let's keep this in mind. If we think that, for example, in Africa, the population will double by 2050, we see a massive urbanization coming. If urbanization is not done right, it will not contribute to welfare and growth. I've worked a lot there, in East Asia, China, Vietnam. These countries have used urbanization as really drivers of growth. And these cities were not just creating out of, well, let's do something, but there was some planning on this, and it really helped people create jobs and get people out of poverty. That needs to happen also in Africa. That means that if you do urbanization without transport, you are on the wrong track. It needs to be an integral part of this, and it needs to be looked at. It’s what we need to do. Now, that is one, that that realization is there. Secondly, what has to happen is it needs investments. Investments, if you're looking at China, at that time, they were investing 5% of GDP. Now, that's quite a bit, but many countries are investing less than 0.5%. 0.2%. How do you transform? Even the Bank, before I went there, I just looked what we have been committing over the last 10 years in IDA. It's about two and a half billion dollars per year. You said, well, that's a nice amount. Relate that to the IDA GDP, it's 0.1 %. Now, it's good that the Bank is doing this, and there is the uptake of transportation investment, including in IBRD. But what that means is, if this is reflecting of what actually public sector is now, we need to get the private sector in massively. That needs to be looked at, how we can create critical mass for investments, particularly in IDA countries. My view is that if we want to get there, and if a 2.7 trillion-dollar GDP is there, then we need probably something of 10 to 15 billion dollars per year in investments. We're not there. That is the ambition. I think what I like of this kind of convening is not to say how we can administer the status quo, but how to get to the scale.

[Femi Oke] You've taken us on a brief journey into what is necessary, what needs to be done, how much it will cost. I haven't heard any tangible stories, anecdotes. When I traveled around here, this is what I saw. This is a good model, because at the moment it's a series of very beautiful statements. Take us on the ground.

[Axel van Trotsenburg] On the road. Well, I cannot say everything in one or two minutes. My experience is mostly in Latin America because I was their Country Director, and I've seen in Chile, but also, particularly in Bogotá, in Colombia, with the bus rapid transport systems, and they were transformative. What is actually very useful of these meetings or of the Bank working as a knowledge organization, also those kinds of experiences were also helpful in actually learning for the Senegal experience where there was a bus rapid transport system created. What’s interesting for the World Bank, I think here, it's maybe still... But we talk so much about the One World Bank Group, namely after the public sector arm, the private sector arm, and then we talk and we talk and we talk. But here we did actually something where actually the public sector arm provided support, and IFC, and even MIGA came in with a guarantee. That helped, interestingly, mobilize private sector money to the tunes in around 150 million dollars. That is an interesting way how we can replicate it, and it is also, particularly what is important, it's doable also in Africa, because sometimes there are the prejudices, but here you could actually get the private sector in. What is more important is that what impact it created is namely with this system, people can reach their jobs within an hour commute. If you are looking around in many countries, people have to commute two hours to go to work, two hours back. They are like four, five hours on the road. This has reduced it dramatically. It then also created new job opportunities through that system, but also directly manages the system that's also creating jobs. That is, I think, what is interesting then when it is doable, and I think that is where we need actually to advertise that a little bit more.

[Femi Oke] You see our theme here, Axel, “Driving Change, Delivering Solutions.” It can be summed up in one word, implementation, which that's sometimes be the most trickiest part of the entire progress to sustainable transportation. What guidance would you give us today as we're discussing implementation? How to do it well, how to do it better?

[Axel van Trotsenburg] Before I get into the implementation, I'm more of an aspirational guy. The reason is you need to know why you're doing this. If we are, we'll do implement, say that that's uninteresting. But what is interesting is basically, to say we need to drive the change, namely that you actually can contribute to a much-improved state, particularly in the low-income countries. That needs to be our single focus that we say we have to create change so that there are job opportunities, there is growth opportunities, and then ask every sector how he can contribute. And then, basically, you realize that transport is critically important. Therefore, you need to invest, but you need to create coalition. You need to create partnerships, because even if you look in Senegal, it cannot be done not only with the World Bank. Of course, it has to be driven by the countries themselves. That is the first thing, but then we need to be the complementary force and not the only one. We can work with the other multilateral organization, with the other development organization, with the private sector. We need to have an open mind that driving change is opening also your mindset that you actually look at a much broader coalition to make it happen. Then, I think on the delivering solutions, that is where we need to be, the whole time at the cutting edge. These types of events are good to see what are the latest ideas in the industry, what can be done. I would add here, particularly, digital. Data is critical these days. We use data, but we are barely scratching the foray. That is not the transportation problem, it’s a general thing. What my urge is, it’s we need to see how we can with big data, with digital, serving new solutions on this. The final is mobilizing private sector, private sector that needs to get in.

[Femi Oke] The Bank has renewed its focus on capacity building, on knowledge for developing countries, and does original research. If we connect that original research with what we need to do globally for transportation, is there anything from the research that you've seen, that you've been following, that your teams have brought to you, that you would like to share with us today that's relevant to our conference?

[Axel van Trotsenburg] Well, what we have to learn is that transport, you cannot impose. Transport will need to be owned in the community. If there was an experience in Chile that was in Santiago, there wasn't a whole bus system that was to be transformed, and I was not consulted. That backfired royally. The issue is there that we need to learn how we actually find solutions that are really carried on by the municipalities, by the people, so that basically people see the benefit, but also that we are listening to their concerns. That can be also, for example, for women. How do we actually make sure that there is no violence against women? How do you respond to this? What are the options? I think that sensitivity should be there. I think also what we need to see is when we do knowledge, I think with the knowledge bank, we are trying also to actually change this completely in a sense, not that you have new insights, but it is the engagement way. I was the other day in South Africa opening or launching an inclusive growth study with the finance minister and the transport minister, by the way. It was about the way we did that, we did that together with think tanks, government. Actually, the product was the end result. It was not that you wrote it before and then you start consulting. It is the way you engage. The interesting thing is it brings many more ideas out, but also the ownership is stronger and the partnership is also stronger for them because they like that kind of exchanges with the Bank. We can then bring also different experiences across the globe, and that actually really enriches the discussion. This is also the chance for the whole transport folks here to see how we can be integrated into this specific transport solution, but never forgetting the overall picture for how we're working here together.

[Femi Oke] Axel, when I asked you about implementation, you said, “I'm the aspirational person.” Give us some aspiration. Share with us for the final thought.

[Axel van Trotsenburg] Well, look, for me, the main thing, the challenge of the World Bank is the biggest challenge ahead of it is in my mind, IDA, and particularly Africa. There, we need to bring all the strengths of the organization to make sure that actually we help transform the continent, a continent that has huge potential, has incredible... It's the youngest continent in terms of population and what we need to do, how we can help. There are many areas where we can, transport is what we want as one. The last thing is transport should not be seen only in urban transport. Their continent is not well connected among the countries. There is a huge growth potential of integration. Europe has always benefited from integration. It gives a huge boost. Right now, transportation is still poor, from air transport, to rail, to road transportation. Those things we need to do, I think we need to see similar to the M300, that initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity. It would be good [to have] a whole initiative that connects the entire continent with transport. That is where we drive the change, and we can do it. Here I say, I have to stop and shut up. Thank you. [Audience laughs] [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Axel van Trotsenburg, thank you for starting our program today. We appreciate you. Thank you. [Axel van Trotsenburg] Thank you. [Femi Oke] We are going to start our plenary for today via a video message, which comes from the Executive Director of UN Habitats, so all the way from Nairobi, right here to us in Washington, DC. Anacláudia Rossbach, ED of UN Habitats. Take a look at the video screen.

[Anacláudia Rossbach] Distinguished delegates, colleagues, and friends. It's my sincere pleasure to provide the keynote speech here today. Transport is the backbone of our cities, connecting communities and unlocking opportunities. Yet for many, especially women, persons with disabilities and marginalized communities, mobility remains a challenge. Transport must be safe, affordable, reliable, and accessible for all, ensuring no one is left behind. Technological innovation, urbanization, and climate change present both, challenges and opportunities for inclusive transport. While these changes can transform mobility, they risk exacerbating inequalities if not managed with equity and justice in mind. Digital platforms, data-driven solutions, and emerging mobility services can diversify the workforce, breaking traditional barriers and expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups. Training is key, equipping women and other prioritized groups with the skills to thrive in the transport sector. However, technology alone is not enough. A truly inclusive transport future requires strong policies, supportive local governments, engaged communities, and impact-driven businesses, all working together to design transport systems that put people first. A good example of this is the ACCESS Project, funded by the International Climate Initiative, where UN Habitats partners with UNEP, the Wuppertal Institute, ITDP, ICLEI, and others. This project, spending six Latin American countries, aims to integrate innovative policies and digital tools into urban transport to reduce emissions while ensuring equitable access for all. Access prioritizes gender inclusion, resilience, and safety, addressing challenges like harassment in public transport and the unique experiences of women in mobility. By strengthening local policy frameworks, the project takes a people-centered approach, ensuring that transport solutions are not just innovative, but also inclusive. During the 12th session of the World Urban Forum in Cairo, we explored planning cities with empathy in mind. An empathetic city listens, understands, and responds to all residents, celebrating the most marginalized. Inclusive transport is crucial to this vision. To create just, inclusive, and resilient transport, empathy must be a fundamental, daily practice, not just a reactive response. We need cities that reflect the diverse realities of their inhabitants. True progress comes when mobility is dignified, humane, and rooted in social justice. Moreover, we must recognize that inclusive transport systems are closely connected to adequate housing in the context of transit-oriented development. People should not have to choose between affordable homes and access to jobs and services. Integrated planning that links transport with land use and housing policies can reduce urban sprawl, commuting times, and carbon emissions, creating more sustainable thriving and inclusive communities. As we shape the future of transport, let us remember that inclusivity is the foundation, not an afterthought. Together, we can champion a just transition in transport, one that empowers communities, forces equity, and ensures mobility is a right, not a privilege. Despite our different perspectives and experiences, we all have the power to care, act and empathize. Thank you. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] I'm going to introduce the plenary members for plenary number four to come on stage. We are going to be Reshaping... Come on stage. I'm speaking South London. It's not translating. Welcome. The audience will applaud you as you come on stage. [Applause] [Femi Oke] Please, take a seat. You'll see your name tag, and you'll sit on the seat that is closest to your name tag. Thank you so much. Reshaping the future of transportation is our mission for the next hour, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm going to say hello to everybody. I'm going to give our audience your titles, and then you are going to introduce your name. Does that make sense? We're going to partner up on how we do this together. All right. Visiting scholar from Harvard, Inés. Hello, welcome. [Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Hello. Good morning. My name? [Femi Oke] Please. [Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Okay. [Femi Oke] It's early. We're getting together. [Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Easier if I say Inés Sánchez de Madariaga. I'm a professor in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. This semester, this year, I'm a visiting scholar at Harvard University. [Femi Oke] It's so good to have you. CEO of WRI India. Hello. [Madhav Pai] I'm Madhav Pai. [Femi Oke] Hello, Madhav Pai. [Damilola Olokesusi] Okay, so my name is Damilola Olokesusi. You can just call me Dami. I'm Co-Founder and CEO of Shuttlers. [Femi Oke] Good to have you. Minister. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] My name is Alhaji Fanday Turay, Minister of Transport and Aviation for Sierra Leone. [Femi Oke] Good to have you. CEO and Co-Founder of BasiGo. [Jit Bhattacharya] Hi, everyone. I'm Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

[Femi Oke] All right, great. We are going to be talking about how innovation in the transport sector is going to help us get to delivering, driving solutions, implementing solutions in a better way. I'm really curious to hear, and I know our audience will be curious to hear, about how you're innovating, Jit. Do you feel like you are an innovator?

[Jit Bhattacharya] Yeah, I think we are more than just an innovator. I think we're capitalizing on this incredible opportunity that's happening. I'm happy to share some background. [Femi Oke] Please, go ahead. [Jit Bhattacharya] For those of you, many of you might be aware of BasiGo, but for those of you who aren't, the opportunity that we are looking at is, as I think we can all acknowledge, public transport is still fundamental to mobility, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A recent study by the Kenyan government found that 60% of the people living in Nairobi use a bus or a matatu every single day to get to and from work. On top of that, our bus sector is a private sector. It's private sector-driven. We have 20,000 busses in Nairobi. They are all privately owned. None of them are government. This is still quite common throughout Africa, while we're seeing varying degrees where government is getting more involved, public-private partnerships, things like that, there's still a large private sector contingent. The inspiration for BasiGo actually came in April of 2020, we had this magical experience where very early in the COVID pandemic, the government stopped all the matatus from running for three days. Overnight, the air completely cleared, and we were able to see Mount Kenya 350 kilometers away behind the Nairobi skyline. Most of the people living in Nairobi, most of the Kenyans, forgot that you used to be able to see Mount Kenya almost every day from the city. That showed us, we were given a glimpse of what would happen if we could clean up the public transport sector. We have this amazing resource in Kenya. Over 90% of our electricity is already coming from clean, renewable energy, but more than that, between the hours of 10: 00 PM and 6: 00 AM in the morning, we have 800 gigawatt hours every year of surplus geothermal and wind energy going to waste that could be used to charge public transport busses. This is the opportunity space that we found. I've been working in the e-mobility space for 20 years. What we've seen in markets like Latin America, China, India, is that public transport busses is one of these sectors where actually EV can be directly competitive with the incumbent for a long time. When we went through and did the analysis, we found that that was absolutely the case. Not only would an electric bus in Kenya mitigate 50 tons of CO2 per year, it could actually be more competitive than the diesel busses without government subsidies. As somebody who's been working in climate change for a long time, this is exactly the kind of opportunity that I've been looking for so long. What we're doing, our innovation, is we're bringing what we have seen in other markets work very well, a fleet as a service model, to these private sector operators in Kenya in order to help them be able to afford an electric bus. Because if you ask them to buy it, there's no way with a high cost of capital and the cash sensitivity in our market that they would ever be able to afford it. But through a fleet as a service model, which we call “Pay as You Drive,” they're able to access an electric bus for a lower cash down payment. They triple their return on investment, and we are able to achieve the climate impact, modernizing public transport, offering dignified public transport that's accessible to all the people of Nairobi. Absolutely, I think we are innovators because we found this opportunity space and saw an opportunity for radical transformation. [Femi Oke] I now know what it's like to be at one of your pitch meetings. That's phenomenal. I'll buy one. Whatever it is. [Jit Bhattacharya] You have your checkbook? [Laughs]

[Femi Oke] Minister, you were looking very thoughtful. I can tell you were leaning into what Jit was saying. What question did you have for him?

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] We were discussing the similar issue. We had a challenge for us in Sierra Leone. We're only starting now to introduce the cashless system. But then before then, we had a series of leakages. I was just trying to ask him with technology to see how this can be brought forward. I mean for us in Sierra Leone, so we can also tap from them. But Sierra Leone--

[Femi Oke] Can you ask that then? Because Jit’s sitting right by, are you allowed to tell him? Is this going to spoil your business model? [Laughs]

[Jit Bhattacharya] No, I'm happy to tell him, but I think this is what's going to be really exciting about this panel is I am working on one pillar of transport innovation right now, at least on the African continent. But what we're seeing is that there are a number of different areas of innovation. So, one is electrification, another one is really focused on connectivity and making the entire system smarter. The third is around digital payments and the transition away from cash. And so, the ecosystem is transforming very quickly on multiple fronts all at once. I think you're going to hear that across the panel.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] And that is where exactly we are. We have just started that, but we have some challenges. Maybe for Sierra Leone, before today, we had a transport system which was informal, and then the population as well has grown so large. The public transport system is very much unregulated. To do that, we have now started the process of having, firstly, a regulatory framework, which we have already put in place. To do that, we have a company, but before coming to the company, we have a government agency which is now responsible to regulate all this informal transport sector. They have now started putting measures in place, including this cashless system, which I was just talking about. We are moving slowly, slowly. We have just started, but with the support of the World Bank, we are moving forward. We only have one company at the moment which is running the public transport, but it is a public-private partnership model, which we are using.

[Femi Oke] Damilola? [Damilola Olokesusi] Yes? [Femi Oke] You are innovating in the transport space. Tell us how you're doing it.

[Damilola Olokesusi] As Shuttlers, we provide a scheduled bus sharing and cash sharing service to daily commuters. For those of you that don't know Nigeria or Lagos, Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people, and Lagos, where I live, has a population of 20 million people. For the 8 million daily commuters that drive to walk or use public transport, most of them spend at least 2 hours trying to get to work. The idea for Shuttlers came when I was... So, in 2016, I just got employed in an engineering firm as a young chemical engineering graduate. I was in the dire need to provide a solution that I could use and I could control the safety conditions in the busses. My sister was a victim of a robbery in busses called Danfo. With this, I realized that a lot of my female colleagues had similar experiences. As I continued to use the public transport, I became very anxious. I wanted to create something that I could use and my family members could use, my friends could use. That's where the idea came from, to find operators that had clean busses, train drivers. We could partner with them, operate them in a scheduled manner that people can predict when they will get to work, make that service available on our app where people can book the rides in advance, even one month in advance, and they can shuttle to and from work. Now, people that use our service, about 50% of them own cars, and they're able to carpool and buspool through our platform, and we contribute to either reducing the traffic congestion or carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

[Femi Oke] Do you have, I was going to say, something like proof of concept? But other than the people who are using the app, is there anything else that's telling you, this is going well, this is the right direction. I really am innovating in transport?

[Damilola Olokesusi] We are in over 300 routes in Lagos. There's a metric that we track on our app, which is “attempted bookings.” We find that only a fraction of people that search for routes are able to find seats. We have a supply problem. We have more demand than supply because to find quality busses at a price that our customers are able to pay for, because our service is 60% to 80 % cheaper than ride-hailing services, slightly about 10% higher than public transport because we are targeting those that drive private cars. The trick is to find affordable assets. The metric that helps us to confirm that we are solving a huge problem is that we have more demand than supply, and we are able to track that metric on our app.

[Femi Oke] Inés, you come to our conversation with a particular expertise. Would you summarize it for us? Because then I'd like you to talk to Damilola about her innovation through the lens that you bring to our conversation.

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Yes. Well, I work on women's issues in transportation and city planning, also in housing, anything related to the built environment of which transport is a key aspect. A few years ago, for a work that I was asked to do by our Spanish Ministry of Transportation, they asked me to do a gender analysis of transportation statistics that were produced in Spain at the time. That was 2008. I did that. I identified a number of biases and omissions of women's ways of traveling. When I had finished it, I realized that it was like something that came, a light bulb in my head, like an illumination, that the standard categories that are used by transportation agencies around the world… Standard like work, education, shopping, strolling, visits, escorting, and black box others, that really many of the trips that were happening, that happened for the purposes of visiting, escorting, shopping, strolling, are really trips that people, statistically, women, do for the purpose of having the household work and having people who don't have autonomy to move along around the city, go to the places they have to go, like schools, or doctors, or anything that the young, the elderly or the sick have to do in the city. I had this idea of naming these trips “mobility of care” or “care-related trips,” because care is a key concept that has been used to understand all the tasks that people do for the reproduction of life, for the support of life, for daily life to happen in smooth ways. To happen, basically. I had this idea of creating this analytical framework, this conceptual framework, but also a category that can be used in technical terms as a purpose for travel when we collect data. By naming those trips with this umbrella category, we can make them visible. This way we change our viewpoint or how we understand in broad terms the transportation systems, and how people use them, and the needs of people, so we can make them visible, and we can also quantify them. I published this in a toolkit by the European Commission and the University of Stanford called “Gender Innovations.” This had a broad impact, then also by the IADB and many others around the world. It's demonstrating to be a quite useful way to understand women's ways of traveling and their needs. That very much complements the issue of safety. Before that, safety was a key issue, and it is a very important issue for women, but we also need to look at what are the specific ways of movement. That's what the mobility of care as an innovation, a conceptual innovation provides for transport policymakers. [Femi Oke] Thinking… [Applause]

[Femi Oke] Don't be shy. Thinking about the mobility of care, what would you want to ask Damilola and what would you want to ask Jit? Are they creating mobilities of care?

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Well, yes, I would like, because you have mentioned the issue of safety, which is key for women because this mobility of care, it has to be safe. But it also has to relate to the movements that women do, and the trips that they do not do because there's no possibility, the mobilities. For instance, a few years ago for UN Habitat, we did a study of the matatu system in Nairobi, and we found that women did, on average, one trip more than men, that this trip was done for care purposes, and it was as long as the trips done for work. This totally changes the understanding of the needs of men and women. It's very different. In Spain, we did this analysis and we found that the trips that men do between 30 and 45 years of their trips, they only do 9% for care purposes, while women do more over 40% of their trips are for care purposes. It's a huge sex difference.

[Femi Oke] Minister, you're just right at the beginning of thinking about your future of transport. That mobility of care, did that resonate with you?

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] Thank you for that question. I think it would be good for me to also share our experience in so far as gender is concerned. For us, this pertains to especially the bus drivers and conductors. We wanted to train female drivers because Sierra Leone, most of the drivers are mainly male drivers. For inclusivity purposes, we also decided that we should have female drivers. Fast forward, we advertised for female drivers and you couldn't believe we had only five that came forward, and out of the five, when we eventually wanted to start the training, there was none. The reason being, firstly, is because the safety issue, which the professor was talking about, because there is this culture that if they drive the busses, maybe they would be intimidated, and because it's not a common practice in Africa or in Sierra Leone, in particular, to have women driving public transport. We decided to change from the formal way of advertising for jobs. Then, we decided to go through gender outfits within the country. We went through them, telling them that we need female drivers to be able to come on board for training.

[Femi Oke] Just so we can imagine it, how did you do that? How did you tell women that we would like to recruit you as drivers? What was the messaging like? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] We sent a message that we needed drivers. [Femi Oke] What was it? Was it on a text? Was it on billboard? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] And then women are encouraged to come forward for the training. Yes. [Femi Oke] Okay.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] Once we did that, nothing much. We didn't receive most of them. Then, we went through the gender outfit, told them about it. Then, because of the trust they had with the gender outfits, they were able to speak to them, the Gender Ministry, and also other outfits. They were able to convince them that, “Hey, this is good, it's good for you to come.” They gave them the assurance in so far as security was concerned. Then after that, we received… Hundreds of them came forward. Now, I'm happy to let you know that we even received more than the number of female drivers we wanted, that is over 500. But we had to also put the requirement up so that we can reduce the number of drivers. That's worked very well for us. [Applause]

[Femi Oke] How many female drivers do you have now? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Currently, we have only one driving, but then the training would soon finish in the next three months. We would have more drivers, more than the number of busses that we have. We will be coming back to the World Bank for more support. [Laughs] [Femi Oke] Have you been on the bus that's driven by the female driver? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Oh, yes. Sierra Leone, in fact, statistics in Sierra Leone, and I guess all over the world, shows that female drivers tend to be better in so far as the drivers are concern than the male drivers. [Applause] [Alhaji Fanday Turay] It is really working because— [Femi Oke] Data is very important. [Jit Bhattacharya] Female conductors are in higher revenue as well. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Yes. With the busses that we have, the female driver that is driving her bus, till today, it's almost a year, not a single accident from this female driver, the single driver, but with the other drivers, of course. [Laughs]

[Femi Oke] Jit, we can't talk about innovation without talking about tech, and you bring the tech to our conversation. Can you explain what you're doing that helps us look at the future of transportation? Because for you, the future is right now. [Madhav Pai] We talked about data. [Femi Oke] Sorry, Madhav.

[Madhav Pai] That's fine. With geospatial, with computer vision, with AI, you are able to really democratize data. What we are trying to do is three things: build open source, find a way to let co-creation happen through convenings and discussions that are public in nature and really allow the market and the community to build on top. I'll give you two examples, one which is very relevant to what Jit and Dami talked about. India, about 10 years ago, did the unified payment interface, which really enabled peer-to-peer digital payments by creating a standard or a protocol. This is like the Internet protocol. They created this standard and protocol to allow banks for individuals to transact through their bank accounts. We're trying to build a DPI for transport. Any vehicle location device, any payment device, any battery device, any charging device, can we set the standards and protocols? These are like Lego blocks that someone like Jit can then use to build on top. Simple examples. Today, if a bank that wants to lend to an electric bus, if they can see the battery health data, they can tell the end-of-life cost, they can actually give you better interest rates. We have seen amazing innovation come in India when we did the payments. Language was a barrier, somebody put a voice box. OTP was there, somebody just found a way to get it automatically uploaded. We believe that if we want to allow interoperability, there are these four devices, data, payments, location, battery charging. If we can build the standards and protocols, it will unleash the market to be able to build on top of that. That's one idea. The other thing, and why I'm saying also now, geospatial analytics, computer vision, AI is allowing. I'll talk to you about some work we are doing in the temple city of Varanasi. They just redid the temple there. In two years, the number of visitors has gone from 13 million to 130 million visitors this is leading to extreme crowding. Now, using imagery, we've been able to train a bird counting algorithm because facial recognition doesn't work because the crowds are so high and have developed standards to say that once you go past six pedestrians per meter square, it's stamped like condition. How can we use computer vision to generate this kind of data to be able to give trigger warnings of when crowding situations get into stampede situations, how can we create, then use urban design and other strategies to manage. Again, the idea is not for us to do it, but for us to build A, the methodology for assessing pedestrians and crowding, which really is missing from our ecosystem, bring this data using this computer vision AI, but then also get a set of innovators to actually start building the solutions or building the tech that is required then to trigger the warnings and things like that. Then finally, I think with your special analytics, and this is something we did in Bangalore very recently, about two weeks ago was we built an open-source platform called Ship Transport. The idea is to use OSM data, and we've done it for about 25 cities, and it's very easy to do. You can basically, really create these 40-foot panels of mobility in your city with visualization. We created a public exhibition. Some 10,000 people came, bureaucrats came, politicians came, we had media. We were able to talk about complex transport systems in a much more nuanced way than you would actually do when we're trying to explain it. Once people are able to see the visuals, they're able to see why certain parts of the city are getting stuck, why they're not. Then the dialog builds. Now, we've built this in a way that local communities can, A, take this data and create this exhibition. You create this large discourse basis. B, actually young students, etcetera, can actually start to build more data into this, more data about transport demand, more data on how supply functions, and really talk about performance and change the discourse. Even today, most of the discourse in our cities is traffic, congestion, building double-decker flyovers, triple-decker flyovers. Nobody's really talking about last mile connectivity. Nobody's talking about how women move, and nobody's talking about these stampede-like situations. How do we make this mainstream? I think the idea is to use these technologies that are available, but also create the space for dialog and discourse and for everybody to build together.

[Femi Oke] That's a mindset issue, isn't it? It's a mindset challenge. How do you change that?

[Madhav Pai] Well, the first thing is to start actually getting people engaged in deeper conversations. Getting media in was very useful because they're not experts, and they find it very hard when experts like us speak. I think using visualization, using these more immersive techniques to bring them to the conversation, really then also helps with the mindset changing. I think finding a place for community to participate in these things also allows some of this mindset changing to happen.

[Jit Bhattacharya] I have another perspective on how we can get that mind shift change, and that is market-driven. One of the things I think we're hearing, especially going back to what you were talking about, Inés, one of the things that I feel like we're seeing is the public transport sector in a market like Africa has been ossified. There's been no innovation. There's been very little change. I was actually speaking with a student group from Kenya last week, and I was asking them, “Do you remember the matatus you used to ride in the '90s?” “How much have those changed in the last 34 years?” And they say, hardly at all, hardly at all. Meanwhile, the Internet has changed. The phones have changed. The rest of their life has changed, but their public transport has not changed one ounce in almost 34 years. This is what we're seeing now is, now we're in a period of radical transformation, whether it's through electric, whether it's through payments, whether it's through data, and becoming a lot smarter about how the routes need to work. All of these are coming together in order to create a brand-new public transport experience, one that's much more on demand. It's cleaner, it's more comfortable, it's connected, it's achieving all of these things that we wanted to, and it's happening very, very fast. What's driving that? Well, one of the craziest things that we saw when we launched our first two electric busses in March 2022, something we did not expect. We put these on the road. They're just competing as regular matatus. As you know, we don't have bus schedules in Nairobi. Busses go to a queue. They have to stand at a stage in a queue, and the bus at the front fills and then it goes. Passengers would get out of the diesel busses at the front of the queue, go backward in line, four or five busses, to get onto our electric bus because it was more comfortable, because it was connected, because they could charge their phone. What did we find? The mindset shift is happening by passenger demand. They are demanding this. It's then resulting in higher revenues for the bus operators. It's then resulting in them putting 862 deposits with us. It's market-driven. I think that's one way we can make it happen. [Femi Oke] Inés, go ahead.

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Well, this is a way of demonstrating things. We call this a similar way of promoting changes through pilot projects. I would say this is like a bit of an equivalent because you show a different way of doing things. By showing a different way of doing things in a demonstrative illustrative example, people see this is a better thing and we want that. This is like the idea of the role models that we use so much when we want to promote women's participation. For instance, your bus drivers and so on, then you give them prizes, as you have done in India, recognizing women in the transportation sectors by giving them prizes to make them visible. This encourages and contributes very significantly to change. This is like the demonstrative effect. This is a very powerful way of contributing to more inclusive transport systems or anything in planning by demonstrating how the participation of women or how a particular project serves better the needs of women. We have done that. This is a different field like in housing. I would like also to mention in relation to the issue of data and technologies. Another key aspect for women is affordability because women have much lower economic resources than men. In India, you have this very interesting experience of having free busses in a few cities for women, which I think is contributing very significantly to have a very positive impact on women's access to jobs and education, for instance. Pricing systems that improve affordability and also lessen the price of trip chaining and transfers, which is another very typical way of moving by women and how the integration of pricing systems across the multiple modes of transportation, those are key issues that should very much benefit from the use of systems that you were describing. Maybe you can contribute to that.

[Madhav Pai] Absolutely. The city of Delhi and also the state of Karnataka, they basically made busses free for women. We're starting to see early results, but really in the lowest income, it is allowing them… Women which were going 5 kilometers are now going 15 kilometers. That is increasing their access to education, their opportunities. There is a lot of resistance to this idea of making it free, but clearly, from an inclusion of women in society perspective, especially in the lowest income groups, it is showing dramatic results.

[Femi Oke] Where's the resistance coming from, from making it free, from the operators?

[Madhav Pai] No, because it's publicly run. It's really what it costs the exchequer. It's a welfare scheme, if you want to call it. But if you are able to then, I think then the responsibility is ours to show the economic benefits and the economic opportunities doing this creates. The bus service in Bangalore, for example, if you actually… There was a clear increase in ridership of overall ridership because now more women are accessing the system. If you actually count for the fares these women would have paid, that service is now profitable. Now, how do we account for it is actually economics. I think that is something that it's good, and I think it can be designed better. There are a lot of women who can afford who are not using the free service and are asking to pay. I think if we build the right communication, if we create the right messaging, then it works. Now, one more point I'll make. I think on the previous, you asked me, I talked about this event and I talked about how do we engage. The other thing that we were able to do is we got the auto rickshaw driver women on stage. We got people who run. There are a lot of enthusiasts that run bus… These are bus geeks. They run bus route apps and user groups on WhatsApp. We gave them stage. They created a quiz for the city to participate on how busses operate in the city. I think creating these voices will also help us to creating the space, really, to help these voices to come in front. That's the point that Inés was also making. I think will also help us drive some of this change. [Femi Oke] Sure. Minister, go ahead.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] No, I just wanted to touch a bit on the aspect of mindset, just to share our experience again. For Sierra Leone, for us to be able to change the mindset, what we came up with is the policy aspect. We use the policy to be able to change the mindset. Again, we are just growing, Sierra Leone is just growing slowly, slowly in so far as formal or informal transportation is concerned. What the policy is, what we did is we have a policy titled “Radical Inclusion.” What this Radical Inclusion seems to look at is to be able to see those individuals that have been excluded. These include, for example, disabled who cannot board public busses. These include students that are at the far end of the country and have no access to public transport, or even if they do, because they are disabled, they will not be able to board those public transports. It's not. It wasn't working. As a government policy now, we have changed that completely. With the busses, for example, within the urban area, we have ensured that those busses have the facilities that goes, especially for the disabled so they are able to board those busses and go to work. The same applies as well to the public transport as well, to be able to not only travel within the urban areas, but between the urban and the rural areas, thereby creating the environment for economic development.

[Femi Oke] I'm going to open up the room for questions. Please, stand behind the microphone, either at the back of the room or towards in the middle of the room. Don't leave it to the last minute because we have another speaker in this session. So, get on the microphone as quickly as you can. I am going to start online, though. I have an online question, and you’ve kind of addressed this. I'm going to bounce it back just so that we get the absolutely definitive answer. “How do we make the business case that investing in safe and accessible transport options results in economic benefit for all, including transport operators?

[Jit Bhattacharya] Well, that's a very easy question for us to answer, at least in the East African context. In the East African context right now, there is a push from public sector now all the way down to private sector in order to accelerate electrification. It's all driven by the fact that electric is more competitive than diesel. What has changed? That's made that happen. Of course, technology cost has come down. But another important thing has happened in the last two years, and that is ever since the war in Ukraine broke out, as well as US interest rates began to rise in 2022, most African countries have had to remove fuel subsidies. We are now operating on a level playing field. We don't have additional subsidies in markets like Kenya. We have some small subsidies in Rwanda, but we don't have additional subsidies in Kenya. But because we're operating on a level playing field, the electric busses are far more economical. Not only that, from the public sector side, every electric bus we put on the road is reducing imports of diesel fuel by 20,000 liters per year. That is preserving foreign exchange that's helping improve the economy, helping bring currency stability, while also improving the net economics for the bus operators by a huge margin. This is why right now for us, we have 862 deposits on our reservation list from private bus operators. That's going to take us three years to deliver against this back-order list right now because of the benefits to them. [Femi Oke] Damilola, your thoughts?

[Damilola Olokesusi] Yes. One interesting thing about our business model is that we're asset light. We don't hold the busses. We have about 350 vehicles on our platform, and 70% of them are 28-seater busses, and 30% of them are vans and cars. What we promised the 160 bus operators on our platform is that we would help them guarantee their revenue monthly. What we then do in return is to sell those seats in advance to companies and to professionals. We have contracts to companies that that can pay per seat and individuals that can book in advance to assure the operators of their revenue. Where a private company were not subsidized by any financier, we have venture funding. So, we need to ensure that busses on the road are profitable. What we promised our bus operators is that they'll be able to make revenue on our platform.

[Madhav Pai] One sentence for me on this. India is going to do 80,000 busses. I think Jit is indicating the demand that is coming from Africa. We're at the World Bank. We need to unlock serious international finance for us to actually move on the electrification journey. The money that is there today is not enough. At the interest rates that are affordable and right, this is a huge opportunity to unlock finance. [Femi Oke] Minister, you had a thought, too.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] Yeah, just to add to what my brother said here. For Sierra Leone, I think it's helping us. Firstly, the commuters. Before today, from one point to the other, they used to take two or three public busses to get to their location. But with the World Bank project which we implemented with the 50 busses, now they are paying half of that because the busses are taking the individuals or the commuters from one point to the other for half that price. Also, infrastructure. Clearly, because we are going to have more busses, more bus stops, and more other opportunities rising, thereby giving them a lot of income. [Femi Oke] Inés, briefly, did you want to add something?

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Yeah, very shortly. We have a technique, gender impact statements of projects, that can be used, for instance, in the case that we were talking about before of public operators in India, are the spillover positive effects, not just on transport, but on the economy of having this particular measure taken up for a wide mobility under certain conditions that certainly has a positive overall economic effect from a wider understanding.

[Femi Oke] Okay, great. I'm going to take several questions all in one go. Good morning. At the front of the mic. [Emma MacLennan] Can you all hear me? Is this okay? I'm Emma MacLennan. I'm the Director General of EASST, the Eastern Alliance for a Safe and Sustainable Transport. We work in 15 countries, mainly Central Asia, South Caucasus, Eastern Europe, Baltic States, and the Balkans. I love the concept of the mobility of care that Inès proposed. I would also say there's another concept, which is the mobility of autonomy, because people being cared for, people with disabilities, are autonomous human beings. Our organization has done some surveys in different countries and have found that people with disabilities with skills are unable to get employment because they have no mobility. This is really important economic consideration in addition to an equity consideration. So, my question for the panel is, how do we ensure good stakeholder engagement so that people with disabilities, I'm glad Inés, you mentioned people with low income are part of the planning process, are actually consulted, and their needs are taken into consideration? Because I think that's a vital thing. By the way, I'm so pleased to hear the words inclusion, equity, and gender. [Femi Oke] You are such a troublemaker. [Emma MacLennan] I am. I'm also from London, so there you go. [Femi Oke] I knew it. Thank you, Emma. Please, take a seat. I'm going to take several questions. We will get to that one straight away. Hello. Good morning. What is your question?

[Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia] Good morning. I'm Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia, Lead Economist from the World Bank Transport. Thank you very much to all panelists. Dr. Inés Sánchez de Madariaga. Thank you for bringing the demand side of the story so clearly. The importance of this transversal, invisible heroes that are caregivers, which cuts across gender, cuts across age, cuts across income level. I think that is the way that we reshape the future of transport. I have no question, just comment. Thank you. [Femi Oke] Good job. You didn't tell me that at the beginning. Thank you for your statement. If you have a statement, please sit down. We're doing statements in the coffee break. [Claudia Adriazola-Steil] All right. [Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia] I have a question, right? [Femi Oke] No, no, no. That was beautiful. Please, take a seat. Beautiful, beautiful, lovely. Take a seat. Thank you. [Claudia Adriazola-Steil] Thank you. Claudia Adriazola-Steil, with WRI. I just love this conversation, the future of transport, and all the future is public transport with gender, cleaning air. I really love how you are seeing that future. One thing that you haven't discussed is demand management, because if we really want to run public transport and not have people so delayed in public transport, we need to clear a little bit the road. Any thoughts about that? Thank you. [Femi Oke] Thank you. Next question. [David] Hello, yes. I was curious how freight transport plays into this, especially in somewhere like Freetown, hillsides, where you have a lot of small businesses often owned, operated by women, being able to access goods and transport goods up hillsides that may not be accessible. That's a critical issue, and I'm curious how that's been dealt with. [Femi Oke] Thank you. I'm going to take one more for now. Hello, sir. [Harsh Verma] Hello. I'm Dr. Harsh Verma, a Founder and CEO of PeopleSense.AI, coming from California. Crowding is a problem everywhere, even in California, where sometimes there are busses moving with very few people in it. However, there is a challenge of crowding. It was really nice to hear from the panelists talk a little bit about it. I'd like to hear a little bit more on more experiences and the innovation. We are looking at a lot of innovation for building up, addressing the challenges of crowding and also impacting demand-based transportation. That's a little comment and questions for you. [Femi Oke] Thank you very much. I'm going to get to these four, and then we're going to see what time it is. Then, if I've got more time, please come back to the microphone right at the front of the microphone. Thank you, gents. All right, crowding. Who wants to address crowding? Damilola, when you were saying the numbers in Lagos, I was like, “Yes, my city.” Remind people how many people are in Lagos? [Damilola Olokesusi] 20 million. [Femi Oke] All right, so let's talk about crowding. [Damilola Olokesusi] Yes. [Femi Oke] How do you deal with that?

[Damilola Olokesusi] What we've done to ensure that we're able to run an efficient system is that we have a pre-booking solution. Our service runs on schedule. We're the only transport company in Lagos that you can find our booking on the app, and you can predict when we're going to arrive and when we're going to depart. The whole operation works as if it's like the army. We have a monitoring team that ensures that... We bought the innovation from the airline industry into the bus industry in a way that when you're trying to book an airline ticket, you can predict when the flight is going to happen, you can predict, you can find your seats, you can do all of those things. That's what we are bringing into the bus sector as well in a way that people can book their seating advance and so that we will not have any crowding situation. And also, bus operators can also predict their income on the busses as well.

[Femi Oke] Okay, thank you. Freight transport in Sierra Leone. Minister, briefly, what do you have to say about that? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] What was the question about freight transport? [Femi Oke] The future of freight transport in Sierra Leone, how important it was. I'll come back to you because it was quite a detailed question. Let me just see. The gentleman who asked it, please stand up. [Madhav Pai] It's about the hillsides. It's about hillsides and how do you get to people living on hillsides. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Great. Thank you. We got it. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] I think you were talking about Freetown. [Femi Oke] Freetown. I thought he said “freight.” [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Was it Freetown? [Femi Oke] Freight in Freetown. [Madhav Pai] Freight transport in Freetown, on the hillsides. [Femi Oke] Do it again on the microphone. I'm sorry. My note, take it as incomplete. [David] Freight transport on hillsides in Freetown, I think, is a good example of where there are specific issues with that, especially given the lack of paved roads or else in accessibility, especially in heavy weather events and being able to reliably get to shops such. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Yeah, I get it. [Femi Oke] Thank you. Sorry about that. Thanks.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] Thank you for your question. Again, we very much appreciate the World Bank, the support that they gave. What we did initially was to do an assessment of urban transportation. From the studies, it became apparent that we needed about 300 busses. Now, to be able to use those 300 busses, it will cater for all of those routes, including what the gentleman just talked about, but then because of funding opportunities, we were able to get funding for only 50 busses. Therefore, we had to use, instead of using two or three routes, including the route which the gentleman was talking about, we are only able to use one of those routes, but the good news is that we are currently conducting surveys. The survey is already done, and then we will be having the report very soon. Part of it, I believe, will cover the hillside that he was talking about. [Femi Oke] You believe it? [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Yes, I'm very confident. [Femi Oke] You're very confident? I like the second answer. [Alhaji Fanday Turay] Yes, I'm very confident because that's one of the routes which they will be using. [Femi Oke] Amazing. Thank you. I appreciate that. Demand management.

[Jit Bhattacharya] Yeah, I think demand management, this is also related a little bit to crowding, but I'm going to talk about crowding in a different sense, which is more crowding on the roads in general, because we heard this earlier in Axel’s speech as well. The population in Africa is going to be doubling by 2050. In Nairobi, we are currently a population of 5 million, much smaller than Lagos, and yet we're already anticipating what's going to happen in the next 20 years. Nairobi is going to become a mega city. It's to have over 10 million people, and already the streets of Nairobi, even with a very low motorization rate, very few people have private passenger cars in Nairobi, and yet the city is at a standstill. The vast majority of people use busses, and yet the city is at a standstill. So, one of the things that we constantly talk about, we're a climate mission company. We are in this for a climate impact. And yet, there's a climate impact of moving from a diesel bus to an electric, but there's an even bigger climate impact that we talk about all the time. And that is as the city grows, if we can create clean, comfortable, connected, more convenient public transport, we can get the young, emerging middle class out of passenger cars and into a bus. Frankly, that's the only way that you see real sustainable development for a city like Nairobi, and not just Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Lagos, all over the continent. Public transport has to be a priority, but it has to be convenient and competitive with the alternative.

[Femi Oke] Inés, we had that question about DEI that came from Emma, and she wanted to know about, the point about consulting people who have particular requirements when they're using public transport, whether there be people with disabilities, people who have lower income, and she liked the way that you were already thinking about that. What guidance can you give her? How would you answer Emma's question?

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Well, there are a number of… I’m sure she knows that a number of organizations that represent people with disabilities, for instance, in the UN, World Enabling and the World Blind Union are very active participants in all the processes in which, we just heard ED, Anacláudia Rossbach from UN Habitat. They are very active, these organizations, in all the processes, in the UN environment. At the national level, in Spain, for instance, we have the ONCE, which is a National Association of the Blind. It started as blind people, but it also includes people with other disabilities. It's an incredibly effective organization in terms of advocating and being interlocutors with the governments in all sorts of policies, legislation, all kinds of public policy. I think it's a very good an example of what the question was asking of, a very good practice of how to do it at the national level. We have the two, national and international. These two can be very representative. In terms of crowding, that's very important for women in transportation. We know this in India. Subways in India, or Mexico City, for instance, in the great cities in the metro, which has led in the case of Mexico City, for instance, to the separate trains for women. The issue of how this relates to harassment in public transportation is something that has to be thought and addressed in various ways, including education and other means, but it's very relevant for women, too.

[Femi Oke] Panel, I wanted you to think about either scaling up odd jobs as your final thought. What we've talked about, how can we do that globally or even regionally? And does that result in more jobs? Minister.

[Alhaji Fanday Turay] From my part, I think with all what we have said here, clearly, it will result to having more jobs because the focus has to be having a transport system which is safe, which is reliable, and which is affordable. In doing so, I think you have to spend as much as you can because there's nothing you can pay more than the safety or the lives of an individual. That is why for us, especially in Sierra Leone, the busses that we have with the public transport system, they are being monitored closely such that the individuals that go in there are safe, and that gives them the confidence for them to travel in those busses, especially women and children as well and the aged. With all of that, there will be a lot of public-private partnership, and of course, eventually, it will lead to having more jobs and then more income. [Femi Oke] Okay, great. Thank you. I appreciate that. Madhav.

[Madhav Pai] One, just again, in India, we’ve done, if it’s good and achieves the net zero targets that India set itself, it says that we can create one to three million more jobs and almost deliver 1.5% to 2% higher on GDP. A lot of these jobs will come from transport. And then, the other huge factor is the women participation in the workforce in urban areas is at 20%. So, how do we really build systems that enable this number to double? The access to jobs will create the access to economic opportunities and more participation in the workforce. [Femi Oke] Thank you. Inés.

[Inés Sánchez de Madariaga] Yes. Well, I think that facilitating the integration of women in the workforce, in the transportation workforce is another key issue because it has a very low participation of women across the world in all the different parts of the transportation system. And then, facilitating the way that women can access transportation will also be a key aspect for improving the overall participation of women into the labor force, as we have just heard, particularly in India, which is so low. But even in countries in which it's higher, it's very important that the care elements are addressed so that the participation in the labor force can be increased. [Femi Oke] Damilola.

[Damilola Olokesusi] By design, we focus more on daily workers, whether it’s blue-collar workers or white-collar workers. We want them to think less of the troubles of trying to get from work to home, and so we help them design that experience end-to-end. On that end, we help workers get to work, very productive. On the other end, we also help a number of companies access employment every day. More than 160 companies rely on us to provide them revenue through our platform. Over 300 drivers gain revenue through our platform as well. We have boss marshals, boss assistants, female and male that earn revenue on our platform as well. Imagine a small startup like us that has over 300 vehicles, and we have about 700 people that rely on us every day. Imagine scaling that up, 2X, 5X, 10X of that as we expand to other African countries, expand within Nigeria as well, the impact that will make. Other startups are also growing up with that through EV innovations or CNG gas innovations, the effect and ripple effect of that that will make for job employment in Africa. Yeah. [Femi Oke] And Jit, thank you.

Jit Bhattacharya] One of the things to remember for sub-Saharan Africa, we are primarily a used vehicle import market. 80% to 90% of the vehicles coming into sub-Saharan Africa are being imported second-hand. When you make the shift to electric, one of the exciting things is that second-hand vehicles become much less competitive because the batteries are now dying in those second-hand vehicles. So, we actually have an opportunity for green industrialization, manufacturing jobs. For example, in Kenya, we've set up the first local assembly line for modern electric busses, and we're assembling them. In order to be competitive with the incumbent, we actually have to locally assemble. When you look at this shift to electric, a lot of people don't realize how many jobs it can create. We actually estimated it’s between 10 and 12 for every bus we deploy, 10 to 12 direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, across deployment and management of the charging infrastructure, across brand new service and maintenance operations throughout the ecosystem. Just the shift to electric actually is a huge green industrialization opportunity. [Femi Oke] Plenary, listening in to this conversation about reshaping the future of transport is the Vice President and Regional Director for Europe with WRI, Stientje van Veldhoven. Stientje, it's really good to have you here. You've been listening in. Stientje will appear just behind us. My favorite word is Inshallah. [Stientje van Veldhoven] Yeah, I can see myself here. It works.

[Femi Oke] Welcome to Transforming Transportation, the 22nd edition. With you, Stientje, appearing virtually. Listening into the conversation, what leapt out at you? What resonated? Because you've done so much regarding transforming transportation in your career, in your experience. What was your takeaway?

[Stientje van Veldhoven] Yeah, you must have been super excited like I was listening to all of the panels and the questions. I think the main takeaway is shifts are happening, right? We are driving that change. But of course, I was super excited to hear, basically, as we see renewable energies are outperforming fossil, we also see e-busses outperforming diesel, and we are seeing women outperforming men in road safety. I think there's a few good highlights here that we can watch, and we should drive for the change. The question, though, is I think, how do we put that on steroids? Of course, a particular look towards the World Bank already in ensuring enough finance, but of course, much more is needed. I think we are all needed to put that movement on steroids. I think on the point of women outperforming men in road safety, there's a saying in Dutch, and it's always incredibly dangerous to translate sayings, but it says, “A gentleman in traffic is often a woman.” I think that is one that we might translate quite literally here. So yes, and how can we harness that potential more? Also, a reflection on jobs. Yes, and I think it's actually, if you think about it, it's so logical. If we know how to harness the talents and availability of half of the world population better, of course it's going to generate growth. Of course, it's going to generate jobs. So, it’s definitely something that's connected also to transport. Then, so many elements connected to this. Wanting to put this on steroids, procurement is going to be key, government is going to be key, smart policy is going to be key, new technology is going to be key. Actually, in preparation for this session where new technologies and innovation are, of course, at the heart of the discussion, I decided to ask AI what it would say. How could technology innovation drive change? Education and public transport definitely came out on top. So, I think that's very clear, but what also comes out is that demand management, something that the panel and the room also touched on is also key. If we think about demand management, there are two aspects. There's the aspect that was very much highlighted also in the panel of, let's say, the risk of congestion, and that even if you have 100 electric vehicles, they can still cause a lot of congestion. They won't cause as much air pollution, but it's still bad for your economic development. If you can actually develop comfortable, sustainable transport systems that allow you to make much more economic use of the scarcity of space in a city… In my previous career, when I was responsible for transport policy in the Netherlands, I calculated at some point how much space does a bike take on the road versus a car, and the ratio was 1 to 26. It gives you a sense of how much more efficient use you can have in a crowded city and less congestion is better for economic growth, it's better for jobs, we all know it. But this also points to a topic which I heard less about in the panel, active mobility, cycling and walking. Most of the disadvantaged groups use most of these modalities, too. How do we also make sure that while focusing on comfortable, safe, and accessible public transport, and affordable public transport, we also make sure that that mobility that so many people in the developing world are still reliant on is much safer than it is today because it is still very unsafe, and we need to also solve that. If we want to harness, let's say, those questions that women in their daily journeys actually face, I think ensuring more road safety is actually one which is also very key. Then finally, maybe if we think about technology, which is absolutely key, and I think the panel highlighted also some very smart ways of harnessing technology, both for cleaning up transfer, but also for increasing safety of transport, especially for women. Sometimes, we also just need to look at technology outside of the transport sector. Sometimes that's high tech in the sense of mobile money systems and data-driven platforms to inform the most efficient uses of investments. Sometimes, it is also very low tech that you need to unlock a particular situation. An example there, also trying to attract female bus drivers in Colombia, a project that WRI has been working on under the E2E projects, was actually just make sure that there was a toilet for women to go to, which was safe as part of their working day. Sometimes, we also really need to focus on what does the actual journey look like for both a woman using transport or a person with disabilities using transport or somebody wanting to work in transport to make sure that we really think through what their journey looks like and what elements would support them in that journey. The same goes, of course, for all of the informal workers in the transport sector. How do we make them part of these shifts that are happening and how do we enable them also to be partners in us driving change. Just a few things that really jumped out to me and I got really excited about the opportunities and the possibilities here. I'm sure you did, too. I'll be happy to elaborate on any of the aspects because we could talk about this for hours, but I know time is scarce.

[Femi Oke] Your team are taking photographs of the screen, Stientje, so they obviously appreciate the comments that you've been making so far. I'm going to ask you to do one thing which is tap back into your former experiences as a politician, because we're asking about driving solutions, making change happen, and focusing on implementation. What did you find was your secret source for making great ideas, innovative ideas, actually happen?

[Stientje van Veldhoven] Well, maybe very contrary to what people might think for a politician, I actually think that your ears are more important than your mouth. It's getting all of the impacted people, all of the people that need to be connected to a solution. A solution is often… A real solution, an innovative solution, a new solution often means changing the current. That means that people will be impacted in positive or negative ways. Make sure to get all those people connected to the development of these ideas, involve the communities, involve also those that face negative consequences, might see their business models change. How do you bring all of those people on board, listening to them, listening to where their worries are, where their concerns are, but also where the opportunities are, and try to define your policy in such a way that you can make them your allies. Just as a little example, we were facing a lot of congestion. It's been one of the biggest problems in the Metropolitan area, which is most of the West of the Netherlands. We had forever been trying to solve that congestion by putting more roads in place, more asphalt. That was the basic solution to solve congestion for a little while, and then it would just clog up again. Then, at some point, we start to reflect on how can longer distance active mobility actually play a role in a flat country like the Netherlands with an e-bike, 15 to 20 kilometers by bike is a daily commute, which is actually pretty easy to do, provided the infrastructure is good. By actually by aligning ourselves with the business community, getting a campaign, let's say, in the air that said, if you don't need to be on the road, please get off, so that we can make transport for those companies that have no alternative, for people that have no alternative, to use the road more efficiently, we were able to reduce the use of the road, so to do demand management while stimulating active mobility, but with maybe a set of unusual allies, actually, to advocate for cycling as a solution to unlock a situation with lots of congestion. It's listening and it's finding those maybe unusual alliances that can help to move certain policies forward.

[Femi Oke] Stientje, thank you so much for being part of Transforming Transportation, the 22nd edition. Also on our plenary, we had Inés, Madhav, Damilola, Minister Turay, and Jit. Thank you so much. The audience will thank you all together. [Applause]