Mobility and the Urban Poor

Poverty is a phenomenon of many dimensions. It is not just about insufficient income to meet basic needs, but also about the deprivation of basic social rights and limited access to essential services such as public transport. Urban poverty manifests itself through the spatial segregation of the poorest in the peripheries – areas characterised by insubstantial public services and deficient infrastructure – where the provision of mass transport is inappropriate in terms of price as well as availability. As a result, the poorest have restricted access to the opportunities offered by life in the city.