Public transport reliability in growing cities: the case of Asokore Mampong, Ghana

Abstract

ABSTRACT The reliability of public transport systems is often reported in transportation literature as an essential factor in assessing the quality of urban transport services. Studies have largely examined the effects of transport reliability from the perspective of both customers and operators. Policies and interventions have been largely based on the experiences in developed countries, with a dearth of studies within the global south, particularly Africa, with rapidly urbanizing cities and where the transport sector is largely informal with several reliability challenges. This paper thus examines the reliability of public transport services in Ghanaian cities, using Asokore Mampong Municipality as a case study. Using a sample of 250 passengers interviewed at various bus terminals in the Municipality, the paper establishes five factors – the number of stops to pick up and drop off passengers, overaged and rickety vehicles, congestion on the roads, frequent breakdown of vehicles, and the number of vehicles available as affecting the reliability of public transportation in the study area. The paper establishes that public transportation in the study area is unreliable regarding waiting and boarding times of operating vehicles and recommends an effective regulation of public transport operators by the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly to improve reliability.