Gashaw
Aberra

Advancing sustainable urban mobility, public transport reform and transport electrification across African cities.

Gashaw Aberra is Manager for Public Transport and Electrification with the Africa team of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). He leads initiatives that advance sustainable urban mobility, public transport reform, active mobility and transport electrification across Africa.

With more than a decade of experience in urban and transport planning, Gashaw has contributed to major mobility programmes in Ethiopia and across the region, connecting policy, street design and public transport delivery.

Before joining ITDP in 2018, he served as Team Leader for Transport and Road Network Planning at the Addis Ababa City Master Plan Project Office, where he led work on road networks, bus rapid transit, parking strategies and transport infrastructure development.

At ITDP Africa, Gashaw has led and supported projects covering active mobility, complete streets, urban street-design manuals, public transport transformation and electric mobility. He works with governments and partners to develop transport systems that are sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient.

At the Africa EV Summit 2026 in Addis Ababa, he brings public-transport planning and implementation experience to the discussion on electric bus rapid transit and the development of scalable e-bus systems for African cities.