Beyond Words: Unpacking the Multifaceted Impact of Local Transportation Terminology in Africa
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper explores the complexities of transportation terminology in Africa, where names like Boda Boda, Tro Tro, and Okada carry rich cultural and historical significance. It addresses the tension between preserving local authenticity for regional audiences and adopting standardized terms like "paratransit" for global communication. To reconcile these challenges, the paper introduces "Flexi Transit" as a unifying terminology, emphasizing adaptability and responsiveness to evolving community needs. Leveraging technology, Flexi Transit reflects the dynamic nature of these systems while respecting their cultural roots. Adopting "Flexi Transit" provides a unifying terminology that balances local authenticity with global comprehensibility, offering practical benefits for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Researchers can use it to standardize terminology in comparative studies, while policymakers can integrate it into frameworks to promote inclusivity and preserve cultural significance. For practitioners, it enables culturally resonant branding and communication strategies.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All authors submitting manuscripts to the African Cities Journal agree to the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. Under this license, authors retain the copyright to their manuscripts while granting the Journal the right to publish and distribute the work under the terms of the CC BY-SA license. Other persons, including the authors, are free to share the manuscript on the medium of their choice. In the event of sharing a modified version of the manuscript, it is imperative to clearly indicate the parts where modifications have been made.
Any derivative or adaptation of the work must be distributed under the same license conditions (CC BY-SA), to ensure that subsequent works retain the same level of openness and accessibility. This ensures that the work remains freely accessible and retains the same licensing conditions, thus promoting the principles of knowledge sharing and collaboration within the scientific community while safeguarding the rights and interests of the original authors.
Regarding the reproduction and downloading of manuscripts in personal or institutional repositories, authors are generally authorized to archive preprints (version of the manuscript prior to peer review) or postprints (version reviewed and accepted for publication) in these repositories. In particular, authors can reproduce their postprints in their thesis (as a chapter). However, it is essential to respect the terms of the CC BY-SA license and duly cite the original version published in our journal.
For manuscripts that have been accepted for peer review but have not yet been published in the African Cities Journal at the time of thesis submission, authors should mention that the chapter is the preprint version of a manuscript under review in the Journal. Consequently, authors retain copyright on their thesis chapters while granting the journal the right to publish and distribute the work under the CC BY-SA license.
How to Cite
Share
References
Alimo, P. et al., 2022. Investigating the increasing demand and formal regulation of motorcy-cle taxis in Ghana. Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 103, p. 103398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103398
Boateng, F., 2020. “Indiscipline” in context: a political-economic grounding for dangerous driv-ing behaviors among Tro-Tro drivers in Ghana. Humanities and Social Sciences Com-munications, 7(1), pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0502-8
Dumedah, G. & Eshun, G., 2020. The case of Paratransit-‘Trotro’service data as a credible location addressing of road networks in Ghana. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol-ume 84, p. 102688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102688
GNPT, 2024a. What is the Global Network for Popular Transportation? [Online] Available at: https://www.populartransport.net/
GNPT, 2024b. What’s in a name? [Online] Available at: https://www.populartransport.net/about-words
GNPT, 2024c. The words and terms we use matter. [Online] Available at: https://www.populartransport.net/popular-transportation
Gorev, A., Popova, O. & Solodkij, A., 2020. Demand-responsive transit systems in areas with low transport demand of “smart city” Transportation Research Procedia, Volume 50, pp. 160-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2020.10.020
Guillen, M., Ishida, H. & Okamoto, N., 2013. Is the use of informal public transport modes in developing countries habitual? An empirical study in Davao City, Philippines. Transport Policy, Volume 26, pp. 31-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.03.008
Itani, A., Klumpenhouwer, W., Shalaby, A. & Hemily, B., 2024. Guiding principles for integrat-ing on-demand transit into conventional transit networks: A review of literature and prac-tice. Transport Policy, p. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.01.007
Leland, K., 2017. Want to Be as Famous as Google and Uber? Turn Your Brand From a Noun Into a Verb. [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/karen-tiber-leland/want-to-be-as-famous-as-google-and-uber-turn-your-brand-from-a-noun-into-a-verb.html
Maliro, K., 2023. 30 years on: Boda-Boda taxis, East Africa's transport lifeline. [Online] Avail-able at: https://www.trtafrika.com/africa/30-years-on-boda-boda-taxis-east-africas-transport-lifeline-14385534
Martin, E., Courtright, T., Nkurunziza, A. & Lah, O., 2023. Motorcycle taxis in transition? Re-view of digitalization and electrification trends in selected East African capital cities. Case Studies on Transport Policy, p. 101057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101057
Mateo-Babiano, I. et al., 2020. Formalising the jeepney industry in the Philippines–A confirma-tory thematic analysis of key transitionary issues. Research in Transportation Econom-ics, 83(100839). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100839
Mogaji, E., 2021. Brand Architecture. In: Brand Management. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66119-9_11
Mogaji, E. & Nguyen, N., 2023. Exploring interactions between commuters with disabilities and transport service providers. Journal of Services Marketing, 37(6), pp. 762-787. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2022-0145
Nwaedozie, U., Ugboma, O. & Hassan, A., 2023. Danfo in Lagos, Nigeria: unregulated, un-safe, and unreliable, yet meeting the growing transport needs. SSRN, Issue https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4450539.