The city has budgeted over 21 million Birr (1 million USD) to buy the cycles and build infrastructure for the first of its kind service in Ethiopia, according to the city’s transport coordination office as quoted by the state affiliated Radio Fana media outlet.

The city has spent 7.1 million Birr (350 thousand USD) to buy 210 two and three wheeled cycles, with a total of 8km road built for this purpose, reports Radio Fana.

With the capital city Addis Ababa and major regional cities polluted by household, industrial waste as well as car exhaust emissions, the experimentation with the cycle taxis is one way to achieve the country’s ambitious green strategy.

The strategy dubbed Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) aims for Ethiopia to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2025.

One way of trying to achieve this goal is through the provision of environmentally friendly transportation solutions such as electrified rail projects, with the 34 kms Addis Ababa light rail project which started operations in September 2015 as one showpiece.

The Ethiopian government also plans to launch by September a several hundred kilometre long electrified rail line from the outskirts of Addis to Djibouti Port.

This would services most of the country’s export-import needs. The line will take over from the 100 year old delapidated French built diesel rail line and is expected to ease the need for road transportation from the port which can be slow and polluting.

--ANA--