The Public Passenger Transport Cooperative (PPTC), accompanied by Inspectors from the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD) paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD)Hon. Garry Nkombo to give an update on the progress made towards actualizing the “Time Efficient Public Transport System” project.
PPTC has embarked on a Time Efficient Public Transport System project for the city of Lusaka with a view of introducing a new model of buses that responds to commuter needs and leaving no one behind. The project once implemented will be rolled out to all towns across the country.
The proposed project is ambitious in achieving the aspirations of government in the areas of, among others, providing direct connectivity to destinations for low-cost time efficient public transport mobility to employment and business centers, education, health, economic and trading facilities.
Other than that, the project aims at introducing E-payment systems of all operational transactions in the Public Transport Sector and bring in a New Model Mass Movement Bus, which is disability friendly, with financial assistance from cooperating partners.
Because bringing this mass movement bus comes at a huge cost of an estimated K3.2 Million, PPTC will pilot the project using a low cost vehicle to create visibility and an entry point for financing.
Receiving the Concept Note, Implementation plan and Framework, Hon. Garry Nkombo expressed gratitude to PPTC for the time taken to share a matter that is of governments’ interest.
Hon. Nkombo said the submissions are well-noted and that in due course, after looking at the action points thoroughly, the ministry will give feedback and possibly bring in more stakeholders to participate in actualizing the aspirations therein, which are similar to that of government.
The PPTC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sydney Mbewe said his organization has been actively engaging relevant ministries, agencies and other organizations within the public transport sector for a buy-in of PPTC’s thoughts on what the organization perceives to be a livable space in the Public Transport sector.
Mr. Mbewe was quick to mention that the Green Environmental Fund has already shown interest in the project and indicated possible funding.
He said time efficient mobility is key in promoting national economic growth but that unfortunately the Public Transport Sector in Zambia is not inclusive of persons with disabilities.
The use of purpose made vehicles and alternative routes aligns perfectly with ZAPD’s commitment to promoting accessibility standards and awareness.