GIS Based Spatial Optimization of Sheger Bus Stops Accessibility in Addis Ababa: The Case of Piassa – Yeka Abado and Piassa – Jemo Bus Routes
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Date
2022-12-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Bus stops play a significant role for efficient and effective public transport service as it serves as a point of contact between passengers and buses in the transit service. This study is aimed at evaluating the accessibility of existing bus stops and determining optimal location for bus stops. For this study seventy-seven (77) Sheger bus stops along two study bus routes (Piassa- Yeka Abado and Piassa –Jemo) were considered. The study employed a mixed research approach with a cross-sectional survey
design. The data were drawn from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data related to the perceptions of bus users on the existing bus stops physical condition were collected through questionnaires from 163 sample Sheger bus users using convenient sampling along the study bus
routes. Further, key informant interviews with professionals at Sheger Mass Transit Enterprise and field observation were also used. Secondary data related to the road network, bus route, the bus stops coordinate point, bus stops spacing, the number of bus and bus trips, population and parcel data were gathered from statistical records, shapefile or AutoCAD data from relevant institutions. The analysis was done using descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics such as T-test with the help of Statistical Package for Social Science Version 26
and spatial analysis such as service area network analysis with the help of ArcGIS 10.8. The result showed that most of the existing bus stops physical conditions are poor where 71.8% of the sample respondents agreed or strongly agreed on the overall quality of the bus stops as poor condition. Many of the bus stops are inconvenient to persons with disability and the elders due to the potholes and
obstructions, lack adequate shades, seating chairs, and boarding and alighting space with safety and
security concerns. The result also revealed that the majority of inbound (51.4%) and outbound
(50.0%) bus stops were beyond the bus stops spacing standard of 800 meter indicating large service area gaps. Regarding bus stop accessibility evaluated based on three parameters: road density, trip generation, and population served, 36.0% of the inbound stops and 44.7% of the outbound bus stops
had poor accessibility indexes, respectively. Optimal locations for bus stops were thus proposed based on the combined accessibility index of the three parameters and the bus stop spacing standard of 600-800 meters considering a 30–50-meter junction constraint. Accordingly, the optimization of bus stops involving retaining, relocating, dissolving and creating new bus stops has improved the good and moderate stop accessibility by 58.1% and decreased the poor stop accessibility by 68.3% for both the inbound and outbound bus stops. Finally, it is suggested that Addis Ababa City Transport
Bureau in general and Sheger Mass Transit Enterprise in particular should give due consideration to the improvement of bus stops facilities with continuous follow up and the optimization of bus stops accessibility through appropriate planning, design and placement of bus stops.
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Keywords
Accessibility, Buffer, Bus Stop, GIS, Spatial Optimization, Service Area