Mienke is a transport and mobility specialist, set to graduate with a doctoral degree in Transport Economics in 2025. Her research interests lie at the intersection of development and urban economics, with a particular focus on how mobility and public transportation systems shape economic outcomes in both developing and developed countries.
Before pursuing her doctorate, she gained experience across the private, public, and academic sectors, working with institutions such as the City of Cape Town and more recently, the World Bank. She earned three Transport Economics degrees, cum laude, from Stellenbosch University while balancing part-time work. Currently, she is conducting funded research on electrifying the informal public transport sector. However, she is open to take on additional work in the mobility/transport economics field.
Selected publications or texts
Peer-reviewed publications
- Knipe, M. & Krygsman, S., 2024, ‘The opportunity cost of household transport expenditure in South Africa’, Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 18(0), a1081. https://doi.org/10.4102/jtscm.v18i0.1081
- Knipe, M. & Krygsman, S., 2024, ‘The association between transport network length and economic activity: A case study of Cape Town’, Conference proceedings of the 42nd Annual Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2024), 8-11 July 2024, Pretoria, South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/99325. ISBN: 978-0-7961-8245-6
- Knipe, M. & Krygsman, S., 2023, ‘The economic facilitating role of passenger transport in South Africa’, South African Institution Of Civil Engineering (SAICE), September, 32 (8) p.37. https://www.flipsnack.com/BE95BDAA9F7/civil-engineering-september-2023/full-view.html
Work in progress
- Knipe, M., Booysen, M.J., Pretorius, B. (In progress journal article), ‘Electric Minibus Taxi Implementation in South Africa: Financial Assessment and Industry Willingness’.
- Knipe, M., Truen, S. & Winston, C., (In progress book chapter), ‘A comparative analysis of urban transport systems’.
- Knipe, M., Molnar, A. & Selod, H., (In progress World Bank working paper), ‘The cost of mobility – Evidence from South Africa’.
Selected speaking engagements
- African Transport Research Conference (ATRC) | Cape Town, South Africa | 2024
- Southern Africa Transport Conference (SATC) | Pretoria, South Africa | 2023&24
- UITP | Barcelona, Spain | 2023
- Transforming Transportation (TT) | Washington DC, USA | 2026 (invited speaker)
Awards and recognitions
- Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship Award | 2025
- The World Bank African Fellowship | 2025
- Best Paper by a Young Professional at a conference: SATC (2023) & ATRC (2024)
- Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) Esther-Mahlungu Doctoral Fellowship in recognition of doctoral research output and abilities | 2024
- National Research Foundation (NRF) Scholarship for Doctoral Research
- Stellenbosch University Postgraduate Scholarship | 2021-2024
- Graduate School of Economic and Management Sciences Scholarship |2020-2023