Sub-Saharan Africa cities are simultaneously confronted with deficiencies of public transport and low levels of household car ownership. Which role can motorised two-wheelers play in this context? The case studies of Niamey and Douala show that the motorised two-wheeler used as a private mode of transport occupies a specific position within a rigid modal hierarchy where it appears as an ersatz for the car. As a mode of public transport, it represents an innovative bottom-up response to the multiform crisis of cities, even though the sustainability of this response may be questioned.
