Chad – a country in the heart of Africa, home to nearly 10 million people. To the north, it is bordered by the extreme
aridness of the Sahara desert, while the south is densely covered in forests. One of the poorest countries in the world,
Chad has no railway system, and the entire network of paved roads totals just 270 kilometres – the length of the A14
motorway connecting Potsdam and Hamburg. The contrast could hardly be greater. Nevertheless, Chad has attracted
the interest of DLR transport researchers. In February 2013, Berlin-based transport researchers visited N’Djamena, its
capital city, as part of their scientific activities.
This transport situation is also present in other countries
in Africa and South America. How did this country come
to be chosen?
Coincidence played a part. A colleague from Chad
worked with us in Berlin. He was our initial contact with the
Department of Geography at the University of N’Djamena. We
had almost a year of exchanges with colleagues there via tele-
phone and email. In February, it was time to establish personal
contact and intensify the collaboration.
What did you experience and learn during your stay in
Chad?
Our hosts at the University received us very warmly and
introduced us to leading personnel, such as the President and
Dean of the University, as well as important administrative
figures. We were able to get a picture of the sometimes-difficult
working conditions of the researchers and of various efforts in
the country to improve the living conditions of the population.
Naturally, we also discussed the large number of traffic acci-
dents – one of the biggest problems of transport in the city.
Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and motorcyclists,
are especially at risk here.
What comes next?
We are just at the beginning. We have made contact
with local scientists and have an initial picture of the transport
scene in N’Djamena. In future, one of the things we want to do
is establish a mutual student exchange programme. It would be
a very positive thing that would benefit both institutions; there
is a lot we can learn from one another. For the DLR Institute,
this will offer the opportunity to address international issues
and enhance the existing expertise.
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More information:
Melanie-Konstanze Wiese interviews Barbara Lenz, Head of the DLR Institute of Transport Research, about a very
different type of mobility.
Transport research
in the desert sand
Mobility in rapidly growing cities
As with many other cities in sub-Saharan Africa, the
population in N’Djamena has increased rapidly in recent
years. While in 1960 there were no cities of over one
million inhabitants, by the mid-1990s there were already
some 100 cities with 100,000 or more inhabitants. Today
a number of cities are home to several million people,
including Lagos, Abidjan, Dakar, Nairobi and Douala. As
a result of this fast growth, the metropolitan areas have
been constantly expanding as well. Local public transport
systems are insufficient, so significant accessibility pro-
blems are arising for the population in newly developing
suburbs. Not least, the lack of public transport services
and the large distances within the cities means that
access to work, education and healthcare is made more
difficult or even impossible for inhabitants of the peri-
pheral neighbourhoods.
Over one million people live in N’Djamena and move through its streets. There are hardly any
local public transport systems directly supported by the city or the state.
What makes the transport system in Chad so scientifically
appealing?
As transport researchers, we are of course not only inter-
ested in how the transport system in Germany is shaped and
will develop in the future. Here, we have a tightly knit network
of various means of public transport. So we switch quite natu-
rally between them, taking the train to work, going shopping by
car, and taking a taxi home after an evening out. In countries
like Chad things are very different; the only regular bus services
available are for inter-city traffic. Within cities, minibuses and
motorcycle taxis are operated by small private businesses, and
there are no fixed prices or consistent timetables. What would
seem like an adventure to us is established everyday practice
there, and it works. Transport research is interested in describing
every facet of transportation. We want to know how a system
relying almost exclusively on informal options functions. What
dependencies arise as a result of this?
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