Some technologies spread 'spontaneously'
Photograph by Paul Starkey ©

A private sector transport technology in Guinea

If a transport technology is appropriate and profitable, rapid adoption is possible within one generation. Government funding and promotion are not prerequisites for rapid adoption. Entrepreneurs can establish manufacturing facilities and supply systems involving formal and informal trading systems.


 


Some technologies spread rapidly and 'spontaneously'

Most transport technologies have been developed and spread by entrepreneurs and users and not by public sector services. This applies to the historical development and spread of wheelbarrows, animal-drawn carts, bicycles, cycle rickshaws and motorcycles.

Photograph by Paul Starkey ©
Parking for mopeds and bicycles in Burkina Faso where cycle technology has spread rapidly in recent years.
Photograph by Upali Pannilage ©
Load-carrying tricycles (cycle rickshaws) in India

Development and spread of cycle rickshaws

Rickshaws are two-wheel carts pulled by a person. Cycle rickshaws are tricycles originally derived from a bicycle front and a rickshaw rear. On the Indian subcontinent they have been used for over sixty years. Over six million of them, made and operated by entrepreneurs, transport people and goods. Cycle rickshaw success is due to its transport value, relative simplicity and low cost, ease of local manufacture and repair and ease of use.

Engineers claim the existing designs are poor, with inefficient gearing, unnecessary weight, poor steering geometry, lack of suspension, weak wheels and inadequate brakes. Several recent initiatives in India and Bangladesh have aimed to improve operator comfort and technical efficiency. The numerous small entrepreneurial manufacturers could rapidly copy and disseminate new designs if suitable components were available and if the rickshaw users demanded them. However, to date, the 'improved' designs have yet to be widely manufactured and adopted.

Spread of donkey carts in Mauritania

Pack donkeys have been used for centuries in Mauritania to transport water, goods and people. Until recently there were few carts (fewer than 1000 carts were used in 1960). Recently there has been a large expansion in carts pulled by donkeys and horses. Over 75,000 donkey carts are now used.

Photograph by Paul Starkey ©
Donkey carts used for transport to market in Mauritania

This rapid increase has been due to entrepreneurial activity, not government intervention. The carts or their components derive from workshops in Senegal and Mali. Some complete carts have crossed over the southern border, but most have been made from components in small workshops. Carts cost US$ 180-260, implying some US$ 15 million has been invested in carts in 20 years. Credit for carts has been minimal. Urban transporters and rural families have found cart investment profitable. The carts have increased the capacity of donkeys to transport water, forage, agricultural produce, building materials, traded goods, people and urban waste. Donkey carts are now important in the urban and rural economies of Mauritania.