Urban transport in Dakar: BRT and TER - infrastructure designed to revolutionise Senegal’s transport system.

Under the enlightened vision of His Excellency, President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, the TER and BRT are just some of the countless advances made by the State of Senegal since 2012, particularly in the transport infrastructure sector.

Senegal has chosen to anticipate the issue of urban mobility by investing in mass transport.

The Regional Express Train (TER) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) have been deployed by the State of Senegal as appropriate solutions for modernising the transport network and improving urban mobility in the capital.

These two mass transit systems are managed by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Public Works, and designed to meet complementary needs. The Train Express Regional (TER) provides a structural response through a modern transport system designed to support eastward growth of the Dakar urban area, serving the new town of Diamniadio and Blaise Diagne International Airport. It comes alongside a second mass transport project designed to improve travel conditions between the city centre and the north of the urban area, with the planned introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

The TER links the railway station to the new Blaise Diagne airport, serving Colobane, Thiaroye, Pikine, Rufisque, the urban centre of Diamniadio, Sébikhotane and Diass. The BRT will link Guédiawaye to Petersen bus station (18.3 km route), passing through Grand Medine and serving the densest urban areas.

Promising outlook for the BRT...

With the launch of the BRT, a transport system capable of carrying up to 300,000 passengers a day, Senegal will be ushering in a new era of modern urban public transport in West Africa.

This investment in the public interest will greatly facilitate the mobility of citizens while offering practical conditions that meet the highest standards of safety and convenience. The BRT project has the explicit aim of improving residents’ access to residential and production areas.

Forecasts also show that it will provide around half of the low-income population with access to over 8,000 additional jobs compared to the “without BRT” baseline scenario.

One-year figures of TER operations: 17 January 2022 - 17 January 2023

At a time when Phase 2 of the TER (Diamniadio-Airport) is still being finalised, the number of passengers carried by the Train Express Regional represents the equivalent of the entire population of Senegal (17,000,000 passengers) in its first year of operation (27 December 2021: service launch).

This generated over FCFA 14 billion in revenue, calculated on the basis of an average ticket price of FCFA 850. Prices range from FCFA 500 to FCFA 2,500.