History of Transportation in Abuja Metropolis in Abuja Metropolis
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to historically survey the transportation system in Abuja metropolis, but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intend to achieve the following specific objective;
- To examine the effectiveness of the transport system in Abuja metropolis
- To examine the role of government in sanitizing transport sector in Abuja metropolis
- To proffer suggested solutions that will address the challenges encountered in the transport sector in Abuja metropolis
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Transportation is the bedrock for development of any nation. Every country required a good transport system to develop economically. Transport enhances production, trade and exchange ideas in the economic development of mankind. A country without transport facilities is less advantageous in the global economics. According to Gubbins (1996), Transportation is the movement of passengers and goods from one geographical location to another to enhance their utility. The development of modern society is very complex, the peace and stability of the world depending on the ease of social interaction and trade between nations. Transportation has been seen by many as the hub on which revolves the entire economy of any nation. At a more comprehensive conceptual level transportation involves the movement of people, goods, services and information from one point called origin to another point called the destination using a given mode or combination of modes which could be land based, water, air and pipelines modes. According to Benson and Whitched (1975) regard transport as a crucial part of economic activities, which centered on increasing human satisfaction by changing the geographical position of goods, people and services. Aluko (2000) also viewed transportation as the ability to overcome space whereby passengers, goods and services could be moved or transported from one place to another so as to achieve some element of social, economic, political and psychological aspiration unhindered. This means that transport is comprised of routes, media and traffic of persons, goods and services. Transport system permits goods to be sold to consumers in places far distance from the region where they are produced. Economists assert that goods have not been produced until they have actually been transported to the final consumers who will satisfy their wants (utility) by the consumption of the goods. It therefore means that transportation by moving goods from one point of consumption is fulfilling productive services or creation of utility, utility being an economist term for ability of good or services to satisfy a want (Obasanjo, 2013). People travel long distance to fulfill their needs for business and leisure. Transportation is becoming increasingly more efficient because the development of science and technology have been introduced into transport. Public transportation system of a city does much more than it citizen from one place to another. It can play a major role in encouraging and controlling urban growth. One of the most serious problems of urban centers of the developing world today is that of “urban transportation crisis” which actually a complex bundle of interrelated problems is.
CHAPTER THREE
THE SCOPE OF TRANSPORTATION GEOGRAPHY
Introduction
The role of Transportation Geography is to understand and analyse the spatial relations that are produced by transport systems. In fact, it is a response to the ever-growing need of man for movement and the transportation of goods from their various origins to destinations all over the world. However, because of the multidisciplinary nature of Transportation Geography it defies any rigid definitions. In spite of this, a few scholars have tried to define it. These include Ullman (1954); Eliot-Hurst (1974); Robinson & Bamford (1978); The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia (1979); Taffee, Gauthier & O’Kelly (1996); Rodrigue, Comtois & Slack (2006) and Wikipedia (2014). The geographer is not alone in the study of transportation because scholars in other disciplines such as Economics, History, Sociology, Political Science, Engineering, Planning and many others also study transportation. Like Geography, Transportation Geography is influenced by several concepts and methods initially developed outside the discipline which have been adapted to its particular interests and concerns. The key concepts in transport geography are closely linked to economic, political, regional, historical and population geography, among others. Several other concepts such as Regional Planning, Operations Research and Location Theory are commonly used in Transport Geography notably as tools and methods for the spatial analysis of transportation. At a wider level, links exist with several major fields of science including natural sciences, mathematics and economics. Hagget (2001) discussed the major fields of Transportation Geography as well as how they are related to other academic disciplines and the interdisciplinary nature of the study of transportation. The analysis of the major concepts of Transport Geography relies on methodologies often developed by other disciplines such as Economics, Mathematics and Demography.
CHAPTER FOUR
DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN NIGERIA
Introduction
Early reliance on the rivers and creeks as the major means of transportation in Nigeria shifted to the railways as soon as rail transport became available. The railway network was constructed in Nigeria by the colonial administration in order to enable it to evacuate minerals and agricultural raw materials and forest resources from the interior parts of the country and also to enable the selling of imported manufactured goods in these interior locations. It was used for linking up the different regions of the country and thus for promoting inter-regional trade, and to increase economic and industrial development. Onokala (2002) noted that during the colonial phase of transport development in Nigeria, the penetration stage which was associated with the construction of the railway network from the ports of Lagos and Port-Harcourt inland as well as slight development of the inland waterways of the Rivers Niger and Benue during this period. Most of the railway network of Nigeria was constructed between 1896 and 1964. The Nigerian railway network consists of 3,505 route kilometers of single line 1.067 meters gauge. The maximum permissible speed is only 64 kilometers an hour with a maximum axle load of 13.5 tonnes. In 1966, the Nigerian railways were dieselized and more efficient and economical diesel engines took over from the coal-powered engines. 26 After the initial construction of the railway network in Nigeria, there has not been any major modification or extensions of this backbone.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to examine the history of transportation in Abuja metropolis.
In the preceding chapters, the relevant literatures for this study were presented, critically reviewed. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of labeling deviant in Nigeria.
Summary
This study has accessed the impact of Abuja Urban Mass transit company operations within Abuja metropolis. This study has identified major findings which is the perception level of commuters towards the service of Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company is very poor because most of the commuters said that the comfortability, reliability, efficiency are not up to standard. It was revealed that the average waiting time of Urban Mass (AUMTCO) is between 31 – 40 mins which is very high. The study also revealed that the numbers of commuters standing are competing with those sitting. The study further revealed that commuters’ kilometer coverage is 1.3km per person in Bwari route, 2.5km per person in AMAC route, 0.96km per person in Kuje route and 0.28km per person in Gwagwalada route. The major findings obtained shows that the perception level of the commuters is very low and the waiting time is on the high side and this component is very important in success of transportation operations, thus, the commuters prefer that the operations of Abuja Urban Mass Transit company to improve on their services level and always their commuters at heart. There is a great necessity for instilling order into the present level of bus service system in the city of Abuja
Conclusion
The major argument of this paper has focused on the need to rebuild the urban transport infrastructure of Nigeria in order to expand and modernize it. The demand for urban transport is growing with the urban population surging throughout the country. By the year 2030 about half of the Nigerian population will be living in the cities, increasing the pressure on transport infrastructure in urban areas. At present, urban transport infrastructure is inadequate to meet transport needs resulting in chocking traffic congestions in most cities. Transforming this infrastructure is therefore imperative and will cost about $12.4 billion annually. The urban transport infrastructure is worth transforming because it is even more costly to manage city transportation in their present form. Being a social overhead capital, transport cannot be neglected in the cities because the poor state of infrastructure generally is costing the urban economy a lot, in terms of reducing economic growth by at least 2% yearly and business productivity by about 40%. The cost of poor management of urban transport infrastructure, or of not managing it at all, is equally high. It is therefore imperative to commit to proper management of the urban transport sector by reforming the sector in the ways suggested in this paper, so as to establish the framework for economic and technical regulation of the sector and to improve its funding by honest and judicious subsidy, and by wise investments driven by public-private sector partnerships
Recommendations
Haven completed the study, the following recommendations are made to improve the services of Abuja Urban Mass Transit.
(i) All AUMTCO drivers should be trained to improve the level of commuters’ satisfaction.
(ii) Standing passengers inside the bus should be discouraged to enhance the level of comfortability.
(iii) All buses that are mechanically down should be put in order to increase the numbers of buses in operation. This study recommends a 24 hours maintenance service team.
(iv) Dedicated lanes should be marked out for the AUMTCO buses to reduce the time of arrival from origin to destination.
Reference
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