Dakar City wins 2025 sustainable transport award for its BRT system

A picture of the new Dakar's Bus Rapid Transport(BRT) system.[Photo,courtesy]

Senegal’s capital Dakar has been named the winner of the 2025 Sustainable Transport Award (STA).

The award, which was announced by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Sustainable Transport Award Committee is in recognition of its efforts to promote sustainable and inclusive mobility centred on the launch of its landmark all-electric bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Mexico City, the capital, received the STA honourable mention for its focus on expanding and integrating public transport and bike share networks. The cities were selected from five finalist cities representing Brazil, Mexico and India. In addition, the 2025 STA programme is celebrating two decades of honouring achievements in sustainable, equitable urban mobility around the world.

The Executive Council of Urban Transport in Dakar (CETUD), the executive council for sustainable urban transport, will receive the STA for Dakar in February 2025 and will join ITDP’s Sustainable Transport Award Series programming throughout the year.

This honour recognises Dakar’s progress over the past year to promote sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion with substantial investments in electric public transport and transit-oriented development, and CETUD’s role as the implementing agency has been key to these achievements.

The STA program said is excited to recognise the commitment to improved bus system access with the debut of Dakar’s all-electric BRT system earlier in 2024. The highly anticipated BRT system includes plans for over 18 kilometres of corridors, 23 stations, and a fleet of 121 articulated electric buses (e-buses).

The system is expected to help mitigate over 53,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year with the all-electric fleet. CETUD estimates the BRT will enable 69 per cent of Dakar’s four million inhabitants to reach the city centre in less than an hour by public transport, compared with only 57 per cent previously, while making 180,000 jobs more accessible to low-income communities.