Mobility of the Poor in Akure Metropolis: Income and Land Use Approach

Nigeria being a developing economy still has a high percentage of low income earners. Mobility and modal choice affect us all in our daily life whether we are commuting to work or for recreational purpose. Catering for the effective and efficient mobility of this unique set of low income earners is a task for transport planners. This research assessed the mobility of the poor using land use and level of income. The study area was divided into six zones based on the land use configuration.Income level, frequency of trip and the predominant modal choice for both work and business trip were evaluated. The result showed that the use of taxi and motor cycle in the study area is high. The low income group has the highest frequency of trip base on the level of income and land use. The result of this research will aid the government at all levels and policy makers in formulating a good transportation scheme for the low income earners now and in the foreseeable future. It will also provide policy makers with an improved understanding of the travel behavior of the poor and their preferred modal choic

Mobility of the Poor in Akure Metropolis: Income and Land Use Approach.

Nigeria being a developing economy still has a high percentage of low income earners. Mobility and modal choice affect us all in our daily life whether we are commuting to work or for recreational purpose. Catering for the effective and efficient mobility of this unique set of low income earners is a task for transport planners. This research assessed the mobility of the poor using land use and level of income. The study area was divided into six zones based on the land use configuration.Income level, frequency of trip and the predominant modal choice for both work and business trip were evaluated. The result showed that the use of taxi and motor cycle in the study area is high. The low income group has the highest frequency of trip base on the level of income and land use. The result of this research will aid the government at all levels and policy makers in formulating a good transportation scheme for the low income earners now and in the foreseeable future. It will also provide policy makers with an improved understanding of the travel behavior of the poor and their preferred modal choice. Keywords: (Poor, Low Income Earners, Modal Choice, Land Use, Income

UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY COMMUTING TRIP PATTERNS: TEMPORAL ASSESSMENT

The trip pattern of the university community is a vital component of the overall transportation demand of a province, but it is not well epitomized in travel demand models. This descriptive research assessed the temporal commuting pattern in the university environment, with special focus on universities in southwestern Nigeria. This study was achieved by using detailed questionnaires and oral interviews for data collection from both staff and students in the universities considered. Information on socioeconomics, demographics, the frequency of trips, trip time, and transportation mode choice were analyzed. We adopted statistical software SPSS version 21 and Microsoft Excel for the data analysis. The results of our research showed that the use of the shuttle as a transportation mode declined as the trip time increased, among university staff, with an R2 of 0.9308. Conversely, bicycle use increased irrespective of the trip time for both student and staff, with a R2 value of 0.928. Universities’ commuting patterns are important, because the commuting habits of students and staff have consequences on the motivation for both study and work. Ultimately, this data will help transportation policy makers work on the effective strategy required for efficient transportation planning in the university environment in similar cities in Nigeria and developing nations

Impacts of heavy duty truck emissions on the vertical distributions of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at a big haulage vehicle park

Nigeria relies heavily on heavy duty haulage vehicles to convey commodities from one end of the nation to the other, owing to the decades-long collapse of the rail transportation infrastructure. This is resulting in settings with very high concentrations of the trucks on the country’s key roads. Diesel engine exhausts have long been recognized to be detrimental to human health. The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the top and bottom soil samples from an extensive haulage vehicle stop located at Ogere, a roadside town along the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan highway were investigated. Soil samples taken at depths of 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm were subjected gas-chromatographic/mass spectrometer analysis. The Ʃ priority PAHs in the top and bottom soils at four sampling locations ranged between 16.4 and 32.0 mg/kg and 18.6–26.6 mg/kg respectively. The corresponding Ʃ carcinogenic PAHs for top and bottom soils ranged between 9.2 and 17.4 mg/kg and 8.7–12.0 mg/kg respectively. The concentrations of PAHs obtained in this study clearly exceeded the permissible limits set for soil PAHs in most developed nations of the world. The diagnostic ratio attributed the observed PAHs to diesel emissions. The study concluded that the emissions from the trucks at the haulage vehicle stop have tremendous impact on the soil PAH concentrations