ABSTRACT
Although paratransit – with its flexible operations and intense competition – often appears to be ‘chaotic’, it is in fact a complex system involving politicians, police, bureaucrats, diverse vehicle owners, insurance companies, umbrella and route associations, drivers, touts, route managers, mechanics and, of course, the users. The way these actors interact produces the distinct characteristics we associate with paratransit, which includes no schedules, fluctuating fares, variable stops and sometimes routes, competition on the road, formation of cartels, poor working conditions for labour and, on the positive side, flexibility and demand responsiveness – for those who can pay. The apparent complexity of paratransit emerges out of the way in which key actors within the system relate, capture and jockey for benefits, as well as navigate – and undermine – the formal institutional environment set up (often poorly) to regulate the public transport system.
