Informal Transport: A Global Perspective

Informal transport services—paratransit-type services provided without official sanction—can often be difficult to rationalize from a public policy perspective.

While these systems provide benefits including on-demand mobility for the transit-dependent, jobs for low-skilled workers, and service coverage in areas devoid of formal transit supply, they also have costs, such as increased traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, and traffic accidents.

This article reviews the range of informal sector experiences worldwide, discusses the costs and benefits of the sector in general and uses several case studies to illustrate different policy approaches to regulating them.

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