Citation

Rix AJ, Abraham CJ, Booysen MJ. iScience 2022; 25(9): e104943.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Cell Press)

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2022.104943

PMID

36060060

PMCID

PMC9437852

Abstract

Decarbonisation of Africa's informal paratransit through electrification requires adequate data captured correctly. Field workers getting on-board as passengers with tracked phones are extensively used to measure flow rates and volumes of passengers and vehicles on sections of roads in transport planning applications. Although this method is acceptable for transport planning, it is inadequate for planning for electrification. Combustion engine vehicles have long ranges and refill fast. Drivers and fuel outlets have existed in a symbiotic relationship without the bondage of needing detailed mobility information and planning. With electrification, battery-powered vehicles have become inextricably coupled to roadside infrastructure through their mobility patterns. We compare the current state of public transport data with vehicle tracking data for forecasting the electrification of Africa's paratransit. Discrepancies between them highlight the problem with using incomplete and/or unreliable data to estimate a city's peak load, pointing to a need for vehicle-based data acquisition.

Language: en

Keywords

Energy resources; Energy Modeling; Energy policy; Energy transportation