Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Vuba‚ founders, Paul, Phionah and Peter all have strong ties to Africa. Peter was born in South Africa and obtained his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering there. Phionah (Paul's wife) was born and raised in East Africa. 

Peter and Paul have extensive histories/knowledge of personal rapid transit (PRT) which has significant barriers to entry in the west (such as large legacy transportation industries). Africa is urbanizing faster than any other continent. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions and congestion can be alleviated by PRT. Rather than just do a project in Rwanda, we aim to establish a new industry there.

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The poorest people in Rwanda must walk or take a bus to work, school, medical care or play. Bus trips currently take 79 minutes on average. PRT will cut this to 22 minutes. Fares from standard and premium riders will subsidize those for the very poor who will pay no more than bus fare. 

PRT will remove vehicles from the roads, relieving congestion and reducing trip times for all. Males and females should benefit equally ‚ especially with the strong movement against gender discrimination in Rwanda. 

This project will generate about 500 ongoing jobs about 40% of which will be unskilled. We will not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race or sexual preference. 

Women typically more frequently act as caregivers and do more domestic work than men and most transit systems do not cater well to their mobility needs. Running errands and caring for children and other family members can require many off-peak trips with long waits and more expense. Strollers and shopping bags are not readily accommodated on a bus. Women tend to be harassed more frequently than men and as a result may pay more money to avoid transit in favor of alternatives. With its frequent service, level boarding and in-vehicle CCTV monitoring, PRT overcomes most of these issues.

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