Paper short abstract:

Poor leadership has hindered the viability of public transportation in Nigeria. This challenge has led to extreme forms of mobility difficulties, thereby widening inequality gaps. Execution of proper collaborative leadership framework accelerates urban development and promotes sustainable cities.

Paper long abstract:

Poverty amongst other factors has compounded the problems of mobility in Africa thereby subjecting about 70 percent of the African population to a desperate dependence on public transportation. However, the state of public transport in most urban and semi-urban African cities is discordant with present development. The implications of this downward trend include loss of productivity, loss of lives, environmental depletion, inefficient management of time and inefficient management of money. This study explores into the nature of the modes of leadership or governance of the Nigerian public transport system and measures its effects towards the promotion of an effective public transport system and an integrated land use system. The study addresses demographic issues bordering on the effect of the collaborative relationship between the state, state transport agencies and the informal transport sector and the effect of such relationships on overall transport performance.

The study relied on qualitative data which were drawn through in-depth interviews with 5 NURTW principal officers across five motor parks in Ife Central Local Government, officials of 3 relevant government transport agencies in Ife Central Local Government and 8-man focus group discussions with 3 categories of residents of the local government area. Findings reflect that inconsistency and disharmony between the activities of stakeholders, and divergence of interests within the established administrative framework construct the base challenges militating against the formulation and prosecution of sound policies for sustainable transport in Nigeria. We elaborate on the implications of these for urban development and national productivity.

Paper short abstract:

This paper by examining the huge gap between women's travel requirements and the existing public transport system in Dhaka city introduces the need for a bottom-up approach where women's unique travel insights will be at the core of the new gender-responsive public transport policies in Bangladesh.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates the underlying reasons behind the Government of Bangladesh's (GoB) failure to introduce a gender-responsive public transportation system in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Public transport is a gendered space and therefore, gender-responsive public transport facilities, that promote sustainable mobility for women are mandatory for women's safe and equitable access to urban life. However, studies explore that poor street lighting, insufficient buses and stops, all-male transport staff, limited seating facilities, inadequate public toilets at public transport stops and increasing cases of sexual harassment (SH) inside buses yet characterise public transportation facilities in Dhaka (Rahman and Nahrin 2012; Zohir 2003; ActionAid 2014; ActionAid 2016). This paper adopts a qualitative research approach utilising 15 life-story interviews with women commuters in Dhaka and 5 in-depth interviews with government officials of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority to explore the gap between women commuters' transport expectations and the existing transport policies in Bangladesh. The findings of this study show that GoB is engaged in a top-down approach to introduce a gender-responsive public transport, where transportation policies and frameworks are planned mostly by male bureaucrats and policymakers that lack women's insights. Hence, many of GoB's new interventions to address SH on public transport remains beyond the reach of general women commuters. Therefore, this paper asks for a bottom-up approach where women's voices will be heard at every stage of the physical planning and design of the transportation system to ensure gender-responsive public transport in Dhaka city.

Paper short abstract:

The periurban people of Sriperumbudur finds that their lives are at stake every day with increasing infrastructure around, both state and private. The roads and paths that lead them to homes vanish with passing days. Their mobility to the world outside gets harsher and connections poorer.

Paper long abstract:

Viji was angry as he showed me the highway barely any distance from where he was lying drunk on the coat next to his house. He was mad because the only thing that was between his home and the highway was some thorny bushes. He was angry because these were vast stretches of land they roamed freely a few years ago. This is the plight of most people of Katchipatt village. Many roads that connected them to the other neighbouring communities are blocked, and they are islanded and isolated with every passing day. Their bonds with neighbouring villages have almost disappeared, relationships have been broken. Working across the village I found, their earlier sources of income from other communities were wholly cut off as decreased socialisation, increased hostility with once-friendly villages around. They had to travel miles now to reach the neighbouring villages, which were barely a stone distance away. Katichipatt is bypassed by two highways on either sides, a national monument completely shutting down one part of their village, another end blocked by special economic zone, large MNCs all around them, encroached fenced real estate creeping around, they are in fear, when they would be evicted of their land, and the village would disappear from map with their stories. The tears of Viji represents the voice of everyone willing to cry off their plight, getting drunk being the only option to distract themselves of their daily struggle

Paper short abstract:

Commercial motorcycles have emerged to be a mode of transportation in some developing countries despite the hazards linked to its operation. This paper tried to identify factors affecting the adoption of this mode of transportation and investigated sustainability of this mode of transportation

Paper long abstract:

Commercial Motorcycle (popularly known as Okada in Nigeria) has emerged to be a popular mode of transportation in Nigeria, Africa and other developing countries.Commercial motorcycle transport:a para-transit mode, has perculiarites which often makes it a choice of transportation for both drivers and users commuting short distances. These include its fuel efficiency compared to other automobiles, adaptabilty to navigate traffic congestion, provision of door to door service, cost of procurement and maintenance, etc. It also serves as means of livelihood for both drivers and mechanics. However, commercial motorcycle operation is known with several challenges.

Several factors have being identified to contribute to this development and challenges; which includes urban sprawl, poor city planning and public transportation services, road congestion, poor road networks and bad shape of road infrastructure, unemployment and economic hardship.

Data obtained from sampled cities show that majority of the okada operators are young males in the ages bracket of 18-40 years. The hazard associated with the commercial motorcycle business limits the participation of women. A reasonable number of the operators use the motorcycles as a full time job; and others on part time basis. Interestingly civil servants, artisans and students engage in part-time driving according to data obtained from different studies. Alcohol intake some drivers cause reckless behavior and engagement in risky driving. Commercial motorcycle business is far from being sustainable and needs proper regulations

This study made some policy recommendations to integrate motorcycle mode of transportation into a sustainable mobility framework in developing countries