Public Transportation System: The Case of Addis Ababa
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Date
2015-09
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The major modes of public transportation in the Addis Ababa are anbessa bus, minibus taxis, star
alliance bus, higer midi-bus and salon taxi. In addition, public service bus, white minibuses and cross –
country bus are serving the city. The presence of an efficient public transport system creates a safe,
sustainable and equitable urban mobility. The residents of Addis Ababa have to face great
inconveniences, as well as additional costs to the daily trips to their destinations. This study evaluates the
extent to which the public transport in Addis Ababa has an impact on the urban mobility of the city. It
also assesses the possible strategies and approaches that can be devised to enable this mode play a
significant role in mitigating the worsening level of congestion that we see in the city at this moment. The
study mainly relies on secondary data for its analysis and findings; however primary data has also been
generated and analyzed with the help of sample surveys and structured interviews and attempts to identify
the major factors that contribute to the high demand for public transport system in the city. The
increasing population size and physical expansion of Addis Ababa largely contributes to the demand for
public transport. However, the existing public transportation system could not satisfy the demand.
Moreover, the insufficient finance for investment by the government and the limited participation of the
private sector in the service has also contributed for deficiency of transport supply in the city. The overall
findings of this study revealed that despite the fact that an efficient public transport system is the best way
to maximize urban mobility, in reality this mode of transport is in a critical condition to begin with in
Addis Ababa. Furthermore it has been observed that increasingly heavier reliance on vehicles with small
passenger carrying capacity, such as private automobiles and mini bus taxi, is resulting in congested
junctions, with heavy traffic. Other factors such as the existence of only one dominant core area in the
city, demand overlap that emanates from the similar working hours that are observed for almost all institutions in the city have also been identified to be the main drawbacks that need to be addressed to create an efficient public transport system in Addis Ababa. Finally the paper puts suggestions that revolve around policy issues and decision making considerations.
Key words: Transportation, Mobility, congestion, demand, Transportation System
Description
Keywords
Transportation, Mobility, Congestion, Demand, Transportation System