The Need to Embrace Technology and Innovation in Rural Mobility

Global developments like digitalization, population, and climate change present rural communities with new opportunities and difficulties.

With the help of innovation and technological advancement, rural areas may become more resilient and find new ways to deal with issues like lack of capital/financial resources, lack of adequate transportation, and distance from markets.

A close look at the recent population boom reveals that paying special attention to rural areas is more important than ever.

The rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed a steady year-on-year growth rate of almost 2% since 2017. That number now stands at 678,421,501.

Hence, improving rural economies should not just be seen as a problem to be solved but as an opportunity to boost the overall economy even further.

The quest to improve these economies has led most stakeholders towards one sector, particularly the Agriculture sector.

Agriculture in Rural Africa

The majority of rural Africa consists of mostly agricultural economies. The movement of agricultural goods, mostly for the domestic market but also for export, poses a significant burden to the transportation infrastructure. These regions are in dire need of new transportation solutions.

Rural Africa is severely underserved in terms of good roads. Most are in a deplorable state and are virtually inaccessible during the rainy season. Because of this, some crops are left uncollected, leading to waste and reduced profits.

Providing solutions to these problems has necessitated a serious look at rural mobility. To see how new technology and innovation may be of use to alleviate the situation.

Rural Mobility

Of the many factors with the potential to improve rural economies, mobility could be the thread that holds rural regions together and promotes the survival and expansion of these economies.

However, it is frequently overlooked when major sectors and governments design growth strategies that may support rural economies.

Access to essential services, occupations, and social activities is also hampered in rural and distant communities by the lack of reliable transportation choices.

Several entities are creating unique approaches to provide economically feasible, affordable, inclusive, and sustainable mobility to these communities. This is being done to curtail the inefficiencies of private and traditional public transit in these areas.

There are excellent chances for ideas on rural mobility to flourish in these settings rather than catch up to the technologies tested in metropolitan regions.

Nevertheless, there are numerous major logistical issues associated with delivering best-practice mobility solutions to rural communities. Micro-mobility solutions, for instance, are frequently too far apart to be used as separate modalities.

Demand is usually believed to be insufficient for traditionally shared transportation, such as bus lines, to be feasible or financially sustainable. Despite these challenges, rural mobility is ripe for innovation, when micro-mobility becomes the focus.

There is a unique opportunity to provide these areas with solutions that are tailored to their immediate needs. For example, introducing shared mobility and electric mobility gives these areas the opportunity to not only experience low-emission travel but also an opportunity to save on fuel costs.

Electric two- and three-wheelers present the most viable transit options for many emerging African countries based on their road networks for sustainable, inclusive, and intelligent mobility on a local level.

Rural towns may begin to leverage nonexistent gasoline expenditures and maintenance fees into additional income with a regulated network of electric two and three-wheelers. This is part of the reason MAX has focused heavily on bringing new age two and three-wheeler vehicles into rural communities.

The MAX E M3 and the T1 represent MAX’s use of on-the-ground insight to innovate. From a standpoint of knowledge, and direct control of the design process and technology, MAX facilitates production for the unique requirements of these rural locations.