Oct 18, 2016, German Information Centre Africa
Launch of “MoveWindhoek” (© GIC Africa) But since early 2016, 26 modern city buses have been operating on a new route network across Windhoek. And for the first time, the city has a roadmap to guide its initial steps towards sustainable urban mobility.The Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan (‘Move Windhoek’), launched in November 2015, is the outcome of a partnership between the Namibian Ministry of Works and Transport, the City of Windhoek and the German Development Agency (GIZ) GmbH, working on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The Master Plan supports the development of a new and improved infrastructure, including provision for pedestrians and cyclists: local residents are already benefiting from around 18 km of new walkways and eight km of new cycle routes.
"Car-centred transport planning that does not adequately consider the needs of cyclists, pedestrians and local mobility is a major challenge to sustainable development in Windhoek and other cities in Namibia," says Heinrich Semar, GIZ Team Leader for the Move Windhoek project. The Master Plan therefore provides equal access for all transport users. It’s an innovative approach that has now won a major accolade – the Africa Grow with Public Transport Award for Integrated Mobility from the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). The project has also been showcased at the United Nations as a best practice roadmap for sustainable mobility in Africa.
A bus of the ''MoveWindhoek'' project (© GIC Africa) Move Windhoek has raised the general public’s awareness of integrated mobility and has inspired a rethinking of transport policy in Namibia. The country’s latest Transport White Paper defines a new framework for sustainable urban mobility throughout the country – and this is one of the project’s most significant achievements.
Further information: Habitat III