The Conseil Exécutif des Transports Urbains de Dakar (CETUD), the executive council of urban transport for Dakar, will receive the STA in a live broadcast ceremony held in February 2025 and will join ITDP’s Sustainable Transport Award Series programming throughout the year. This honor recognizes Dakar’s progress over the past year to promote sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion with substantial investments in electric public transport and transit-oriented development. CETUD’s role as the implementing agency has been key to these achievements. 

The STA program is excited to recognize the commitment to improved bus system access with the debut of Dakar’s all-electric BRT system earlier in 2024. The highly anticipated system includes plans for over 18 kilometers of corridors, 23 stations, and a fleet of 121 articulated electric buses (e-buses). The launch of the system is particularly notable for Senegal as a 2021 study from CETUD found that the national economy loses nearly CFA francs 900 billion (or USD $1.4 billion) a year due to issues related to poor air quality, traffic congestion, unsafe roads, and noise pollution. This amounts to almost 6% of the annual national GDP. 

High-quality rapid transit systems, when combined with transit-oriented land use policies and electric vehicles, can offer cities crucial climate, economic, and social benefits. Dakar’s BRT is expected to serve 300,000 passengers a day and reduce journey times from 95 to 45 minutes, leading to significant time savings for users. In addition, the system is expected to help mitigate over 53,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year with the all-electric fleet. Furthermore, CETUD estimates that the BRT will enable 69% of Dakar’s four million inhabitants to reach the city center in less than an hour by public transport, compared with only 57% previously, while making 180,000 jobs more accessible to low-income communities. 

The BRT was developed through an innovative public-private partnership that has also created 1,000 direct jobs, 45% of which were roles for women, to further enhance equity in the local transport sector. Alongside the BRT, the local government initiated an overall restructuring of the city’s public transport network with an expanded low-carbon bus fleet and new bus depots. The STA Committee applauds Dakar’s transformative shift towards zero-emission transport combined with the many promising new policies to improve accessible, inclusive, and connected mobility. 

“Innovation is woven into the very fabric of Dakar’s BRT. Our fully electric vehicles, solar-powered bus stations, and smart systems align with global sustainability trends, making Dakar a green transport leader in Africa,” said Dr. Thierno Birahim Aw, Director General of CETUD in a recent interview. “We also run ongoing awareness campaigns that showcase the environmental and socio-economic benefits of choosing public transport. All these advancements enable us to offer a high-quality, efficient alternative to private cars.” 

There is also one STA honorable mention this year: Mexico City, Mexico. Over the preceding year, Mexico City has been making substantial investments to improve various public transport routes and integrate its bikeshare system for enhanced mobility citywide. Mexico City’s strategies seek to encourage more people to use its BRT, cable car, trolleybus, and bike networks, rather than private vehicles. The EcoBici bikeshare system has seen a 40% growth in the number of stations, now reaching 690, with a robust fleet of 9,300 bicycles served by more than 535 kilometers of cycling infrastructure. The city’s well-established Metrobús BRT has also made a substantial push since 2023 to deploy more e-buses while extending high-traffic bus corridors by more than 30 kilometers.   

In addition, the Cablebús cable car system now spans three lines over 25 kilometers, serving nearly 142,000 people per day and reducing travel times by half, which has been a particular benefit to peripheral communities. Finally, the city’s trolleybus network is being modernized with a fleet of 500 e-buses that mark a significant electrification milestone. These efforts have been complemented by broader initiatives to renovate streets and bikeshare hubs and a program to enhance connectivity through an ‘Integrated Mobility Card’ fare system. Mexico City also previously won the STA honor in 2013.

“It is great to have Dakar and Mexico City honored this year on the 20th anniversary of the STA,” said ITDP CEO Heather Thompson. “These are diverse, dynamic cities that are investing in quality public transit to create new mobility models in regions that are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. Along with the crucial investment into electric transport, both cities’ commitment to transit-oriented development and active mobility is inspiring and we are very glad to have them as part of the STA community.”