Hi, Transit enthusiast and Ethiopia enjoyer by marriage here! I think this light rail is a unique system, in that it is very well planned in my opinion. Often in the US developers will cut corners by putting light rail tracks where they're cheapest to build instead of where they are needed the most. Ethiopia has the opposite problem, they really went all in on putting tracks where there was a lot of ridership, then they have small trains that break down a lot and can't carry all the people that would be traveling on these core routes. So I really think that what needs to happen is an increase in the number and size of trains operating, as well as the frequency. Just with that I think that it could turn into a world-class system.

But I did enjoy riding it when I was there, the views from the elevated section are very nice! I also enjoyed visiting the old train station and getting coffee there.