Research

Current questions and technical areas that shape my work.

Electric and Sustainable Mobility

Data-driven planning, simulation, and optimisation of electric mobility systems, with a particular focus on the electrification of minibus-taxi and paratransit operations.

Mobility Data and Transport Networks

Methods for converting large-scale GPS and operational datasets into evidence about vehicle activity, travel demand, stopping behaviour, routes, and time-varying transport networks.

Behaviour-Aware Transport Modelling

Agent-based and simulation-based models that represent driver decisions, passenger demand, charging behaviour, infrastructure constraints, and uncertainty in informal transport systems.

Energy and Infrastructure Optimisation

Engineering methods for translating observed transport operations into vehicle, battery, charging, energy-demand, and infrastructure design requirements.

Embedded and Data-Driven Systems

Sensing, electronic systems, edge computation, control, and reproducible data pipelines.

Publications

Peer-reviewed papers, conference proceedings, and technical reports.

  1. 2026

    Agent-based simulation of electric minibus taxis: Framework and application to sub-Saharan Africa’s paratransit

    Joshua Tokollo Sello and Marthinus Johannes Booysen

    Energy for Sustainable Development · Article 102011
    DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2026.102011
  2. 2026

    A sustainable transition to electric minibus taxis in Cape Town’s paratransit

    Joshua Tokollo Sello, Marthinus Johannes Booysen, and Brendan G. Pretorius

    Nature Sustainability · Published 13 April 2026
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-026-01808-9
  3. 2026

    Electric Minibus Taxis in Cape Town: Energy Demand, Emissions, and Costs

    Joshua Tokollo Sello, Marthinus Johannes Booysen, Mienke Knipe, Maria Elizabeth Marais, Christo Venter, and Salma Abdelgadir

    Sustainability · Volume 18, Issue 4, Article 2122
    DOI: 10.3390/su18042122

Public Works

Public works and articles.

  1. 2026

    Electric minibus taxis: the challenges and gains facing Cape Town’s transition

    Joshua Tokollo Sello and Marthinus Johannes Booysen

    The Conversation · Published 13 April 2026
    Article

Preprints

Public drafts, working papers, and work currently under review.

  1. 2026

    Empirical performance assessment of South Africa’s first commercial electric minibus taxi

    Joshua Tokollo Sello and Marthinus Johannes Booysen

    African Transport Studies · Technical note under review
  2. 2026

    Right-sizing Paratransit Fleet Electrification: Passenger Capacity Selection Using Simulation-Based Optimisation

    Joshua Tokollo Sello and Marthinus Johannes Booysen

    Thredbo 19 · Conference paper under review
  3. 2026

    Beyond Static Assumptions: A Comparative Simulation Study of Driver Decisions in Paratransit Electrification

    Joshua Tokollo Sello and Marthinus Johannes Booysen

    Planning Practice & Research special issue · Journal manuscript under review

Updates

Short notes on papers, talks, released work, and research milestones.

  1. Dec 2023

    Completed a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University.

  2. Jan 2024

    Began postgraduate research in Electrical Engineering at Stellenbosch University, focusing on electric mobility and minibus-taxi electrification.

  3. Feb 2026

    Published an empirical assessment of the energy demand, emissions, and costs of electric minibus taxis in Cape Town.

  4. Apr 2026

    Began a PhD in Electrical Engineering focused on data-driven and behaviour-aware modelling of electric minibus-taxi systems.

  5. Apr 2026

    Published research in Nature Sustainability on pathways for a sustainable transition to electric minibus taxis in Cape Town.

  6. Apr 2026

    Published a public-facing article in The Conversation examining the challenges and potential gains of Cape Town’s electric minibus-taxi transition.