Rush hours How people get around Africa's busiest cities

Africa is a rapidly urbanising continent. Since 1990, the proportion of people who live in towns and cities has risen from 28% to 44%, according to the World Bank. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts the urban population will double to 1.4 billion by 2050. In many cases, public transport has failed to keep up with this growth.

- By Carlos Mureithi NAIROBI, Rachel Savage JOHANNESBURG and Eromo Egbejule ABIDJAN

Guardian correspondents spoke to residents about the challenges they face on their commutes.

Nairobi

It is 6am on a Wednesday in the neighbourhood of Kibera, where colourful, art-covered buses are lined up outside shops. “Hamsini hamsini Ambassadeur,” a conductor shouts for a ride to a landmark hotel in central Nairobi.

These privately owned matatus are the most popular form of transport in the Kenyan capital, a city of almost 5 million people. There are more than 10,000 of these vehicles - vans that carry 13 passengers, and 33-seat buses - that move commuters around.

Many matatus tend to be noisy, with blaring music. They are also infamous for flouting traffic rules. Conductors jump on and off moving matatus, and swing from their door frames.

As elsewhere on the continent, Nairobi suffers from notorious rush-hour congestion that road widening and new highways have failed to address.

Given the alternatives - personal vehicles, taxis, boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) and a commuter rail operating on a scant network - matatus remain the best way to get around.

Johannesburg