In This Article
Why Gender Matters in This Transition
Women in South Africa often deal with safety concerns and gender-based violence on public transport, travel needs that don’t always fit standard schedules (school drops, caregiving, informal work), and very low representation in decision-making and technical roles. The move to e-mobility presents a real opportunity to break these patterns — but only if gender is deliberately centred from the start.
The report analyses policies at national and city level (focusing on C40 cities: Cape Town, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane), highlights persistent gaps, and showcases practical best practices. These include Bogotá’s La Rolita e-bus programme (which reached nearly 45% female employment with supportive facilities) as well as local efforts like SANTACO’s Women’s Help Desk in KwaZulu-Natal and uYilo’s support for women-led enterprises such as Green Cab.
Our Role in the Project
While AfEMA led the research, stakeholder interviews, analysis, and writing (with expert input from Heather Allen on gender and transport, and Tahir Said on electric mobility), Dsignr Digital was brought in by C40 to handle the full design and layout of the final report.
We took the rich content and turned it into a clean, professional, and visually engaging document that’s easy to read and share. Our focus was on creating strong hierarchy, intuitive navigation, clear infographics where needed, and an overall design that reflects the report’s forward-looking and inclusive spirit. We’re proud to have helped make complex policy insights and practical recommendations more accessible to city officials, transport operators, NGOs, and funders.
Looking Forward
This collaboration with C40 Cities sits at the intersection of climate action, electric mobility, and social equity — exactly the kind of meaningful work we love being part of. A safer, more reliable, and genuinely inclusive public transport system benefits everyone: women, families, local economies, and the environment.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute our design expertise to such an important initiative and look forward to more collaborations that drive real change in African cities.
Read the full report here: Integrating Gender into South Africa’s Public Transport Sector
If you’re working on reports, policy documents, or sustainability projects that need clear, impactful design, we’d love to hear from you.
— The Dsignr Digital Team
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the C40 report about?
The report, titled Integrating Gender into South Africa’s Public Transport Sector, explores how South Africa can make its transition to electric buses and minibus taxis more inclusive for women. It highlights the unique challenges women face — such as safety concerns, gender-based violence, and limited participation in the workforce — and provides practical recommendations to ensure the e-mobility shift benefits everyone.
2. What was Dsignr Digital’s role in the project?
C40 Cities directly commissioned Dsignr Digital to design the full report. We handled the complete visual design and layout, transforming AfEMA’s research and content into a clean, professional, and visually engaging document that is easy to read and suitable for a wide audience including city officials, policymakers, and transport stakeholders.
3. Who developed the content of the report?
The research, analysis, and writing were led by the Africa E-Mobility Alliance (AfEMA). They worked with gender and transport expert Heather Allen and electric mobility specialist Tahir Said. Dsignr Digital focused purely on the design and presentation of the final document.
4. Why is gender integration important in South Africa’s public transport sector?
Women make up a large portion of public transport users but are often overlooked in planning. Issues like personal safety, unsuitable timetables for caregiving responsibilities, and very low female representation in technical and leadership roles need to be addressed. The report shows how deliberately including gender considerations in the e-mobility transition can create safer, more equitable, and more effective public transport systems.
5. Where can I read the full report?
You can download the full report for free here:
Integrating Gender into South Africa’s Public Transport Sector
