Widely dispersed populations, low volume economic activities and 
considerable distances between households and service provision points all present challenges to rural transport planners and the conventional planning tools made available to them. IFRTD members have identified the concept of transport hubs as a potentially useful tool for understanding and building upon the natural evolution of transport organisation in rural areas.
In 2005, IFRTD commissioned four exploratory pilot studies on the organisation of transport services in small rural hubs in Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The studies examined the transport linkages between rural hinterlands and their primary market centres. Particular interest was paid to modal composition and integration, functions, spatial coverage and infrastructure needs associated with the means of transport that operate within the hub system.
- The studies are summarised in the June 2006 edition of Forum News.
- Further exploration of the issue can be found on our Rural Transport Hubs issue page.
For more information please contact:
Peter Njenga, IFRTD Regional Coordinator (East and Southern Africa)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
