Transport in Niger

Urban transport in Niger combines formal providers with informal or artisanal services. Local terms include taxi urbain, taxi collectif or tête rouge, faba-faba and kabou-kabou. Services include urban taxis, shared taxis, minibuses, motorcycles and other three-wheelers. SOTRUNI, private providers and taxi unions serve urban mobility, especially in Niamey and its outskirts. Affordability limits motorized travel for some households. In Niamey, World Bank evidence from 2012 recorded walking for about 69% of trips, with most remaining trips made by cars, minibuses or motorized two-wheelers. No reliable current national modal split has been established. Cycling exists, but national data and dedicated infrastructure remain limited. Road projects may include sidewalks, crossings, pathways and solar lighting. Roads carry private cars, motorcycles, minibuses, trucks and most passenger and freight movement. The 2021 WHO profile recorded 4,951 kilometres of paved roads. Major connections include RN1 between Maradi and Zinder, RN4 between Farié and Téra, the Trans-Saharan connection and the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey corridor. The 112-kilometre RN4 Farié-Téra section was recorded in very poor condition, with rehabilitation and climate-resilience work planned. Flooding, damaged infrastructure, security conditions and seasonal weather can change journey times and whether a connection remains usable. Road projects can include drainage, culverts, bridges, dune stabilisation and other nature-based measures. Intercity coaches and private providers operate through Niamey terminals and ECOGARE facilities. In the first quarter of 2026, Niamey-based providers recorded 310,343 departing passengers: 295,746 on national services and 14,597 on international services. The figures exclude private travel and self-transport. Recorded international destinations included Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Togo; the dataset recorded no passengers to Nigeria during that quarter. Fares depend on the provider and journey, and no reliable nationwide fare table is available. Travel duration and vehicle costs vary with distance, road condition, season and security. Niger has no currently evidenced regular domestic passenger or freight railway service. The Kano-Maradi standard-gauge connection remains a planned project in the available 2024/25 evidence, with studies and resettlement work on the Niger side still pending at that time. Road passenger and freight services therefore provide the established practical alternative. Aviation is formally regulated, but airline schedules, fares and access change over time. ANAC-Niger handles aviation safety and security, airport and aviation-provider certification, and overflight and landing permits. The Ministère des Transports et de l’Aviation Civile handles transport licences, vehicle registration and regulation. Police and gendarmerie conduct road controls, while the Institut National de la Statistique records passenger-flow statistics. Third-party liability insurance is legally required, and periodic vehicle inspection is provided for in law. The recorded maximum speeds are 50 km/h in urban areas, 90 km/h on rural roads and 110 km/h on motorways. Drivers may not use a mobile phone while driving, including through a hands-free system. The recorded blood-alcohol limit is 0.0003 g/dl. Motorcycle helmet rules apply to drivers and passengers on all road types and to all engine sizes; the WHO profile records no fastening requirement. Seat-belt rules apply to front and rear seats. Child-restraint rules also apply, and the profile records a seven-year threshold for child front-seat arrangements. The 2026 Road Discipline campaign targets phone use, drug-impaired driving, overloading, missing helmets or seat belts, speeding and violations involving signals, lights and road markings. Legal duties are formal, but enforcement can vary by place. WHO estimated 6,278 road deaths in Niger in 2021, or 24.9 deaths per 100,000 people, while reported fatalities were 1,152. Niamey records from January to October 2024 counted 5,124 crashes, 96 deaths and 3,398 victims, including 933 pedestrians, 2,341 motorcycle users and 55 bicycle users; these figures use different sources and periods and should not be combined as one national total. As a landlocked country in the Sahel, Niger depends heavily on long-distance trucking for trade. This increases logistics costs and contributes to air pollution and greenhouse-gas pressure. Walking, cycling and lower-emission public transport can reduce transport emissions where safe infrastructure and affordable services exist. No current Niger-specific national transport-emissions series is established in the available evidence.