BUSES AND THE INEQUALITY CRISIS – With Bassam Khawaja and Matteo Rizzo

We need to talk about buses. Yes, buses. And inequality. The
issue that nobody’s talking about.


Since the 80s, transport across the world has been privatized –
fueling an inequality crisis that undermines our human rights.


Liz, Max and Nabil chat to Bassam Khawaja (Co-Director, Human
Rights and Privatization Project, NYU Law School Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice) and Matteo Rizzo (Senior Lecturer in
Development Studies - SOAS University of London) who know lots
about buses.


We ask: What do buses have to do with inequality in
countries from the UK to Tanzania? What did privatization do?
What is this new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system springing up in
developing countries all about? What are the solutions?


Bassam and his co-authors recently made headlines about the
privatization of large parts of UK’s transport system, writing a
report on its failures. It shows that, despite the government
promising that a privatized system would lead to “lower fares,
new services, and more passengers”, while removing “any potential
future liability on the taxpayer”, that has not been the case.


Matteo, who lived in Dar es Salaam for 6 years has researched new
bus systems. His recent publications cover work and employment;
BRT’s exclusionary nature and neoliberalism and precarious labour
in relation to public transport in developing countries.


Please do share the episode on your social media.


If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our
earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning
journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther
King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand
Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music
artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on
beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and
the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic.


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