Transport-Land Use Research Study - Millennium Cities Initiative ...

The Accra Pilot BRT: Transport-Land Use Research Study
Millennium Cities Initiative and Accra Metropolitan Assembly
may charge two or three times the bus fare (Addo, 2002). There are currently more than 30,000 taxis within
the city of Accra, which add substantially to serious congestion and pollution in the city (Armstrong-Wright,
1989; Fouracre et al., 1994).
Traffic Congestion
Traffic congestion is defined as a phenomenon of increased disruption of traffic movement on an element of
the transport system, which is most visible when the level of demand for movement approaches or exceeds
the present capacity of the element (Taylor 1992). In recent times, residents of the city have had to wrestle
with the baleful effects of the phenomenon of traffic congestion. According to a study by Affum and others
(2008), cited in Armah (2010), air quality in Accra is a health risk. The levels of pollutants emitted from
exhausts of motor vehicles along roads in Accra are relatively high compared to other roads where traffic
volume is low. Aside from the environmental deterioration noted above, the socio-economic impacts of
traffic congestion have been well documented (see Prud'homme, 1997; Schrank & Lomax, 1999; Palma &
Lindsey, 2002; Carisma & Lowder, 2008; Intikhab et al., 2008; Agyemang, 2009) albeit such studies have
been concentrated solely on the high-income and middle-income countries of the world.
For instance, it is believed that in the US alone, traffic congestion resulted in a loss of $72 billion to some
sixty-eight large urban areas in 1997 (Schrank & Lomax, 1999). This figure includes time delay valued at
$12 per hour (88 % of the total) and extra fuel consumption. In another study conducted by the Texas
Transportation Institute (2004), it came to light that congestion had caused the US economy 3.7 billion hours
of travel delay and 8.7 billion litres of wasted fuel. These figures represent an increase of 79 million hours
and 262 million litres from 2002 to a total cost of more than $63 billion for the year 2003.
In the UK, the Commission for Integrated Transport notes that while drivers in Central London spend up to
about 50 % of their time crawling in jammed traffic, businesses in the city are also losing about £2 million a
week. Against this backdrop, it is safe to conclude that the economic implication of congestion in Accra is
very severe even though empirical studies are yet to confirm this assertion.
Traffic Safety
Drawing on police-reported accident data and published transport surveys, a majority of road traffic injuries
in Ghana (around 42 %) involve pedestrians in the 26-35 year age group who inhabit the cities, like Accra
and Kumasi (London et al, 2002; Afukaar et al, 2003; Republic of Ghana, 2007; WHO, 2009; cited in
Agyemang & Jørgensen, 2010). Abane‟s (1994) study of driver behaviour in Accra and its relationship to
road traffic examined roadside observations for four main roads in Accra. His study showed that commercial
drivers who operate taxis and tro-tros in the city appear to cause the majority of driving offenses, as they
resort to aggression as a tactic to meander their way through traffic due to the pressure on drivers to complete
as many trips as possible in order to maximize their profits. Additional factors such as illiteracy present an
issue, as close to half of respondents (about 46%) said they could neither read nor write, a challenge which
prevents them from refreshing their knowledge on Ghana‟s driving code handbook and following on-the-spot
traffic regulations. Additionally, few drivers had fulfilled the required testing to obtain drivers licenses.
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