Okolo Austin Paper.pdf

Nigerian Society of Engineers Annual Conference Proceedings “CANAAN 2011”


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AN OVERVIEW OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION IN NIGERIA AND SUSTENANCE OF ITS STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

A. I. Okolo FNSE, FNIMech.E

PAN Nigeria Ltd. Kaduna. [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT In most part of the world, economic development to a large extent depends on cities. Urban cities on the other hand get life from the transport sector. Urban economy and development is dependent and influenced by transportation. Owing to the inter dependency of various other factors like industries, activities of growing population and the socio-economic environment, cautiously planned and incorporated transport facilities are very necessary for urban areas. The number of vehicles that ply the Nigerian roads today is quite high, especially in large cities and this goes along with associated negative impact on the environment such as air pollution. Within the last ten years, the total number of vehicles registered annually increased substantially implying an increase in the per capita ownership of vehicles, which has resulted to great traffic congestion on Nigerian roads. Nigeria’s population growth, higher incomes, creation of more states (which consequently has resulted in rapid growth of cities and urbanization) has led to increase in travel demands. Most transport facilities have failed due to lack of proper planning and design. Furthermore, the consideration of pedestrians and non-motorized vehicle users have been neglected or completely none existent when planning urban transport system in the country and this has created mixture of traffic on our roads resulting to further complications. This is worsened by lack of adequate public transport facilities and packing space. The past few years have been a period of renewed expectations and very high hopes, an era of programmes that are supposed to place the economy on a sound footing. The recently adopted blue print of the vision 20:2020 of the Federal

Government of Nigeria is a laudable project and if sustained will ensure astronomical growth in the development of transportation infrastructure in the country. One of the three pillars on which the main frame of the vision is constructed is: “optimizing the key sources of Economic Growth”. This emphasizes the need for a good transportation system in Nigeria which will serve as a vehicle to drive the economy. This paper aims to examine the current status of Nigerian urban transport system and ways to sustain its development. 2.0 INTRODUCTION Generally, urban cities in developing economies such as Nigeria have several factors that hinder sustainable transport sector. Rural to urban area migration, high income and rapid growth of cities has led to increase in demand. Lack of proper planning and design of urban transportation has been the bane of transport facilities in our cities. The number of cars that ply the Nigerian roads today is quite high and over the period 2000 – 2010, the total number of vehicles registered annually increased substantially implying that per capita ownership of vehicles has been on the upward trend, leading to greater traffic congestion on Nigerian roads. This is worsened by lack of public transport facilities and inadequate packing spaces. 3.0 POPULATION OF NIGERIA The population of Nigeria in 2003 was estimated to be at 124,009,000, which placed it as number 10 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2003 approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 44% of the population under 15 years of age.


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This implied that as at then that over 50 percent of the population, having the means, could own a vehicle and this perhaps explains the steady

increase of the number of vehicles on Nigerian roads over the years.

Migration and Urbanization

Figure 1: World Urbanized Population 2006


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Figure 2: Percentage of World Population Urban Rural

From Figure 1 & Figure 2 above, it is obvious that there is a global shift of population from rural areas to the urban cities and Nigeria is not left out. There is a large volume of internal migration in the country induced by scarcity of land, impoverished soil, declining crop yields, poor harvests and soil erosion, among others. The acquisition of some level of education or skill is also an important factor that prompts migration. Internal migration takes different forms and patterns, but the most significant is the movement from rural areas to

urban centres. Rural-urban migration is responsible for the depopulation of some rural areas and the influx of people into towns and cities. This consequently exerts pressure on the transport systems of urban areas. The following indicators clearly illustrate the evolution of the population of Nigeria and other related issues that have direct impact on the challenges facing urban transportation: Population density: Population density is the number of people per unit of area.

Table 1, Population Density of Nigeria

Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Nigeria 144.93 148.58 139.4 142.74 146.17 158.32 161.54 164.78 168.02

GDP (purchasing power parity): This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries.

Table 2, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria

Country 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010


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Nigeria 110.5 117 105.9 113.5 114.8 125.7 175.5 191.4 296.1 335.4 341.1 377.9

GDP - per capita (PPP): This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.

Table 3, GDP – Per Capita

Country 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Nigeria 970 950 840 875 900 1,000 1,400 1,500 2,100 2,300 2,300 2,500

4.0 URBAN TRANSPORTATION AND ROAD NETWORK

Urban transportation consists of 3 main elements viz:

People Transport Network The Means of Transportation

Urban transportation in Nigeria constitutes about 50% and challenges faced by urban transportation in today’s Nigeria hovers around road transportation, all others being in their rudimentary stage.


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Figure 3: Road Network in Nigeria

French and US physicists have shown that the road networks in cities evolve driven by a simple universal mechanism despite significant cultural and historical differences. The resulting patterns are much like the veins of a leaf. Marc Barthélemy of the French Atomic Energy Commission in Bruyères-le-Châtel and Alessandro Flammini of Indiana University, US, analysed street pattern data from roughly 300 cities,

including Brasilia, Cairo, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Venice. They found that cities' road patterns have a lot in common mathematically, as well as looking similar to the eye. Evolution has ensured that local efficiency also drives the growth of transport networks in biology - for example, in plant leaf veins and circulatory systems.


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Figure 4: Comparison of city road network growth and biological transport networks

New models of city road network growth (top) create networks similar to those in reality (middle) and grow in similar ways to biological transport networks (bottom)

5.0 SUSTAINING DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Development of transportation infrastructures and facilities directly impacts on the economy, society (people) and environment of urban areas.


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Figure 5: Development & Sphere of influence

And this development ought to be sustained to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations or governments as the case may be, to meet their need. In driving development of urban transportation, the impact on the populace should be taken into account and concerted efforts made to minimize adverseity.

Figure 6: Sustainable Development

It is very important that government and relevant agencies identify the appropriate transportation facilities/infrastructures that directly affect the environment, economic and social life of urban

cities for special development action plans. It is only with such a clear vision that sustainable “elements” can be identified which will guarantee


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that the overall strategic development remains on course. To sustain a strategic development of Nigerian urban transportation, the following measures should be put in place: Improvement and Maintenance of Existing Infrastructures and Facilities Roads are designed and built for primary use by vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Rain drainage and environmental considerations are a major concern. Erosion and sediment controls should be constructed to prevent detrimental effects. Drainage lines ought to be laid with sealed joints in the road easement with runoff coefficients and characteristics adequate for the land zoning and storm water system. Virtually all roads require some form of maintenance before they come to the end of their service life. Government agencies should be pro-active continually monitor road conditions and apply preventive maintenance treatments as needed to prolong the lifespan of urban roads. Deterioration of roads is primarily due to accumulated damage from vehicles; however environmental effects such as thermal cracking and oxidation often contribute. According to a series of experiments carried out in the late 1950s, called the AASHO Road Test, it was empirically determined that the effective damage done to the road is roughly proportional to the Fourth power of axle weight. A typical tractor-trailer weighing 36.287 T with 3.629 T on the steer axle and 16.329 T on both of the tandem axle groups is expected to do 7,800 times more damage than a passenger vehicle with 0.907 T on each axle. In this light, it may just be necessary to restrict some category of vehicles from plying intra-urban roads as a means of controlling damage and preventing road failures. Improvement of the Public Transport System Most people prefer cars because of the degree of freedom, accessibility, passion for car and driving, comfort or at times, negative perception on public transport. The public transport system in Nigerian urban cities is poor and hence, the private transport flourished that an astronomical increase was observed in private transport usage between the years 2000-2010. The concerns of pedestrians, bicycle/motorcycle users and bus users are less considered in Nigeria. The available public

transport system including motorcycles, three-wheelers, buses and cabs are provided mainly by private businesses. The public transportation facility may not be termed archaic, but lacks service quality. All tiers of government should be pragmatic in addressing problems of public transportation in urban cities, the likes of Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, etc. Government agencies have to be major stakeholders, for the public transport system to be effective (at least in a developing economy like Nigeria). Traffic Congestion Control Generally, non-motorized transport means to walk or use bicycles. Just like the car numbers, motorcycles increased in Nigeria and by now should be ranked first place in Africa, to have extremely large number of motorcycles in the cities. The large number of both non-motorized and motorized transport in our urban cities has resulted to daily gruesome experience by people in terrible traffic congestions. Parking Space: A secondary cause of traffic congestions in Nigerian urban cities is inadequate vehicle parking space off the roads. Parking is really a headache to motorists. Parking Management and Policies are very much important to avoid traffic congestion, traffic accidents and pollution. In such cities like Abuja and Lagos where there are officially allocated parking spaces, customers are still faced with problems. Some of the problems that parking customers face is the lack of knowledge of parking space location, operating hours and cost of parking and most prominently, the availability of parking upon their arrival. The parking of a car correlates to a lot of other factors like user behavior, space utilization, design of parking zone, safety and security etc. Influx from Trunk “A” Highways into Urban Road Network: Large influx of cars into urban cities through Federal highways passing through city-centre further aggravates problems of traffic congestion. Trunk “A” roads should be re-aligned to bye-pass urban cities. This has been successfully executed in such a place like Benin City, the capital of Edo State. Applying Economic Theory to solve Traffic Congestion Problem:


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Congestion pricing is a concept from market economics regarding the use of pricing mechanisms to charge the users of public goods for the negative externalities generated by the peak demand in excess of available supply. Its economic rationale is that, at a price of zero, demand exceeds supply, causing a shortage, and that the shortage should be corrected by charging the equilibrium price rather than shifting it down by increasing the supply. Usually this means increasing prices during certain periods of time or at the places where congestion occurs; or introducing a new usage tax or charge when peak demand exceeds available supply in the case of a tax-funded public good provided free at the point of usage. According to the economic theory behind congestion pricing, the objective of this policy is the use of the price mechanism to make users more aware of the costs that they impose upon one another when consuming during the peak demand, and that they should pay for the additional in space or in time, or shifting it to the consumption of

substitute public good; for example, switching from private transport to public transport. The pricing mechanism has been used in several public utilities and public services for setting higher prices during congested periods, as a means to better manage the demand for the service, and whether to avoid expensive new investments just to satisfy peak demand, or because is not economically or financially feasible to provide additional capacity to the service. Congestion pricing is one of a number of alternative demand side (as opposed to supply side) strategies offered by economists to address traffic congestion. Congestion is considered a negative externality by economists. An externality occurs when a transaction causes costs or benefits to a third party, often, although not necessarily, from the use of a public good. Congestion pricing is an efficiency pricing strategy that requires the users to pay more for that public good, thus increasing the welfare gain or net benefit for society.


Figure 7: Economic Rationale For Moving From Untolled Equilibrium to Congestion Pricing Equilibrium In Lagos, the alternate route to Murtala Mohammed International Airport is a good example. Incorporation of Safety Considerations into our Urban Road Designs In the strategic plan for development of the transport system in Nigeria, deliberate effort should be made to incorporate safety considerations in the master plan for road development. Careful design and construction of urban roads can increase Road traffic safety and reduce the harm (deaths, injuries and property damage) on the road network from traffic collisions. On urban roads traffic calming, safety barriers, pedestrian crossings and cycle lanes can all protect pedestrians and cyclists. Lane markers can be marked with Cat’s eyes or Botts dots, bright reflectors that do not fade like paint. CONCLUSION The strategic development of urban transportation in Nigeria will only be sustained if appropriate infrastructural development plans are in place with necessary legal framework. To save the road network in Nigeria from total collapse requires good and efficient management, and this has to be done in a pragmatic and organized framework.

For Federal highway, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to a large extent has been doing a good job. This approach could equally be applied on our urban road network. The World Bank’s Institutional and Financial Reforms prescribe establishment of Road fund for road maintenance, and private sector participation through concessions. These reforms deal mainly with funding of road maintenance. And a proper road maintenance management system is necessary for effective execution of this. FERMA as presently constituted, cannot fit into this because it has been operating without private sector input and no proper legal backing. Therefore one important pre-condition to assure sustainability of the urban transportation system development in Nigeria, is the establishment of a road fund with clear legal backing and non-reliance to government budgetary allocations. REFERENCES Dume, B., City Road Networks Grow Like Biological Systems, New Scientist, 23 April 2008. Okolo, A. I., Vehicular Emission Control – A Means to Enhance the Environment, a paper presented at the Nigerian Society of Engineers International Conference & AGM Dec. 2010, Abuja Nigeria. Oguara, T. M.,A Mnagement Model for Road Infrastructure Maintenance, Book of Proceedings PP 52 – 68, 19TH Engineering Assembly of COREN, August 2010.

Documents

Okolo Austin Paper.pdf