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Road safety
In terms of road safety, despite the completely unregulated traffic on the streets, the existing modal
mix acts as unintentional traffic calming, lowering vehicles’ speeds and allowing vulnerable users to
make their way through the traffic. Drivers as well as pedestrians are aware of the local conditions
and are prepared to respond to unpredicted events. In addition, almost no aggressive reactions were
observed by the drivers. This does not mean however that the current situation is desirable. Drivers
show very little compliance with the traffic rules and enforcement is selective, unreliable and
sometimes corrupt. In terms of accidents, they are primarily a result of speeding which is observed
when traffic flows are better, mainly during off peak hours. The condition of the vehicles and the
inconsistent training of the drivers also contribute to the lower safety levels.
Human dimension
Finally, in terms the human dimension of the city, Dakar is a city characterised by vibrant human
activity and interaction in all its areas. The street markets and vending as well as the concentration of
markets around transport nodes (for example bus terminals and the port), make an equally significant
contribution to maintaining the identity, culture and economy of the city. Despite the lack of official
public spaces or their poor maintenance the social element of the city is alive through its markets and
everyday trade.
4.3.2. Summary of the key points of the meetings
The ten meetings held during the site visit in Dakar contributed to developing global understanding
of the transport governance structures in Dakar, the plans and ambitions for the city and also the
perspectives of different stakeholders on the current transport problems. Meetings were held with
representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-Up, the Ministry of
Urban Renewal, Housing and Living Environment, British Embassy in Dakar, the University Centre for
Mobility Research and Studies (CUREM), the Urban Transport Financing Association (AFTU), the
Dakar Urban Transport Executive Council (CETUD), the British Embassy in Dakar, the NGO New Road
Safety (NPR), and the COMCEC nominated contact. In addition, we attended a roundtable with the
Minister of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-Up in London where the Minister and his
advisors presented infrastructure investment opportunities in Senegal.
Transport governance and institutional cooperation in Dakar have seen a major change after the late
1990s and early 2000s. The creation of CETUD in 1997 has made a significant contribution to the
improvement of the collaboration between different stakeholders in Dakar. CETUD brings together
the government, the professionals and the local authorities in order to achieve better coordination of
transport planning and operations for the city. However, CETUD’s role still needs to be enhanced as it
is currently responsible only for part of the motorized modes in the city and none of the active modes.
Although efforts to expand the authority of CETUD are in progress, fragmentation of responsibilities
between different authorities can still be observed. This is probably the reason why it has been stated
that there is lack of global transport vision for the city.
Various challenges and problems have been brought up during the interviews, the most important of
which is probably the lack of coordination between land use and transport planning and the lack of
land use mix not only in the Dakar agglomeration but also in the country. The majority of public
services and employment opportunities of the country are concentrated in Dakar and particularly in
the Plateau area. The huge need for trips to the Plateau is not met by the existing public transport
services and therefore significant congestion issues are caused throughout the day. The lack of offer
has been identified as another key issue, not only in terms of public transport but also in terms of
infrastructure. It has been suggested that the lack of road hierarchy and sufficient road infrastructure
also contribute to the congestion in the streets of Dakar.
The cars rapids renewal scheme is the most important public transport project currently in progress
in Dakar. The old cars rapids are being replaced by newer and bigger cars rapids, known as cars AFTU
or cars blancs or TATA, after their manufacturer. AFTU is the organization responsible for the