Challenges facing urban and road passenger transport in Accra

Opinions on Monday, October 12, 2020

Columnist: Dr. Evans Ago Tetteh

2020-10-12

Urbanization has been one of the dominant contemporary processes, as an increasing part of the world’s population lives in cities.

Taking this trend into account, urban transport problems are of utmost importance in meeting the needs of large-movement passengers.

Traditionally, the focus of urban transport has been on passengers, as cities were seen as places of maximum human interaction with intricate traffic patterns linked to communities, business transactions, and leisure activities.

The services provided by public transportation have changed due to new manufacturing, retail and management practices.

Urban transport is simply defined as transport within / in cities.

The demand for urban transport has increased substantially in the urban areas of Accra due to the increase in population as a result of both natural causes and migration from rural areas to the Accra areas.

There are other factors that cause an increase in the demand for transport. Some of these factors are socioeconomic factors, location factors, and public transportation accessibility factors.

All these factors contribute to the reason why transport within the urban areas of Accra is increasing and this has required the emergence of some 6000 minibuses (Trotro) circulating within Accra.

Cities are places that have a high level of accumulation and concentration of economic activities and are complex spatial structures that are supported by transportation systems. T

The larger the city, the greater its complexity and the potential for disruptions, especially when this complexity is not managed efficiently.

Urban productivity is highly dependent on the efficiency of its transportation systems to move labor, consumers, and cargo between multiple origins and destinations.

Major transportation terminals, such as airports, seaports, and railway stations, are located within cities, contributing to a specific number of problems.

Accra is a very concentric city and the majority of the population lives on the outskirts of Adenta and its surroundings to the east and Kasoa to the west.

The current situation in Accra is that there are 6000 individually owned minibuses, which means that all of these are functioning as a means of transport within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), all using the same roads, highways and streets.

Not forgetting that 6000 minibuses are not the only vehicles that use the roads and highways within the metropolitan areas of Accra, but other vehicles such as private saloons and trucks (both tanker trucks and containers) also use the same roads. Only the number of cars in Accra plus the 6,000 minibuses are, among other things, the cause of the serious traffic congestion.

Monday mornings see the highest traffic congestion in some areas of Accra as many people go to work or school and most prefer to use their private cars rather than urban public transport.

Another challenge facing urban transport in Accra is poor traffic control systems.

The situation in Accra is such that few or no adequate traffic control systems or measures exist.

When there are traffic lights, the traffic lights are broken and not repaired for weeks or the signaling time is inconsistent for peak and off-peak periods.

There are also congested areas in Accra where there is a greater need for traffic lights, but traffic lights are not available.

However, some traffic lights have also been mounted in incorrect locations, especially in links with less human activities. It can be said that only a few are working properly without failure.

Also, parking difficulties are said to be another reason associated with traffic congestion.

Illegal and roadside parking are common features in Accra, especially in areas where there are inadequate parking spaces (the Central Business District), forcing some people to park on the side of the road.

As a result, the road becomes even narrower and the ineffective regulation of parking within the GAMA area has been accelerated to make the situation worse. In such areas, vehicles normally spend a lot of time in the parking lot, which has increased the demand for land consumption.

Even where parking spaces are provided, the demand for parking is very high as there is an increase in motorization.

Additionally, environmental and noise pollution is another urban transport challenge in Accra metropolitan areas.

It is estimated that due to high vehicle growth, tons of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are produced each day in Accra’s atmosphere.

Pollution, including noise generated by automobile activities, is a serious impediment to the quality of life and even the health of the urban population.

Furthermore, energy consumption by urban transport has increased and has led to dependence on oil.

The main notable pollutants include carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen, and hydrocarbons, which are a major source of eye and respiratory diseases.

The increase in the number of old and dilapidated vehicles on Accra’s urban roads compounds the effect of pollution.

In addition to the above, high infrastructure maintenance costs have become a big problem for cities with aging transportation infrastructure, including Accra.

These cities face increasing maintenance costs, as well as pressure to upgrade to a more modern infrastructure.

In addition to the costs involved, maintenance and repair activities create disruptions in circulation.

Delayed maintenance is quite common as it carries the benefit of keeping current costs low, but at the expense of higher future costs and, in some cases, the risk of infrastructure failures.

The more extensive the road and highway network, the higher the maintenance cost and the financial burden.

In conclusion, road transport is an important factor contributing to urban sustainability.

An efficient transportation network that incorporates public transportation helps reduce a city’s per capita carbon footprint and makes cities more livable by alleviating transportation and commuting needs and increasing accessibility.

Therefore, the road transit system is challenged to remain relevant to urban mobility or to increase its market share. However, all of these challenges can be remedied if the following steps can be taken, et al.

Adequate measures, regulation / deregulation, adequate and adequate provision of road infrastructure, including a coherent BRT system, adequate synchronized traffic systems, flexible route adjustments during peak periods.