Work travel in Ghana : the case of Accra

Abane, Albert Machistey (1992) Work travel in Ghana : the case of Accra. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The urban transportation problem is basically a complex and multifaceted one, necessitating investigation into specific aspects of it by researchers contributing towards an understanding of the whole. This thesis is an example of one such investigation. It attempts to analyse and explain the travel behaviour of workers in the city of Accra, Ghana. The specific objective was to analyse how individual workers perceive and articulate their travel behaviour in response to the availability, cost and performance of the various transport systems used for work travel in the city. Transport data analysed showed that workers' decisions on mode choice are influenced largely by cost factors, aspects of quality of service and personal circumstances. It was however made clear that the key to improving transport in the city and to understanding work travel behaviour requires remoulding old-fashioned attitudes of drivers towards passengers (the assumption that whatever the quality and cost of service, people will travel) encouraged by improved planning and quality-conscious decision-making regarding intra-city transport. The study also revealed the need to base the development of intra-city transport on a sound national or regional policy. Such a policy would make it possible to provide only those infrastructures assessed and found to be most relevant to the needs of the city dwellers. It would also be easier to monitor and, if necessary, to regulate activities of transport agencies suspected to be acting contrary to the code of conduct agreed upon by the transport agencies on the one hand, and on the other by the city authorities.

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