Perceived Impact of Abuja-Kaduna Rail Transit on the Commuters’ Mode of Choice

Abstract

The Abuja-Kaduna rail is expected to make huge impact on mobility of commuters and on transportation infrastructure within the connecting cities. This research examines the impact of rail transit on the mode of choice of commuters along the route. The data for the study was collected through issuance of structured questionnaire with particular interest to safety, trip fare, waiting time, comfort, and in-vehicle travel time. These parameters showed strong relationship as indicated using regression analysis. The willingness of commuters to shift mode was determined using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The result shows about 65% of bus transit users are willing to shift to rail transit. This shift was estimated to attract an increase of about 10,054 passengers which will increase the number of rail transit trips from 8 to 16 trips/day. In order to make rail transit more successful, the study recommends that the policy makers should; improve the safety of train by engaging on track inspection, provide on-board monitoring system and passenger equipment safety, improve comfort through provision of adequate and hygienic convenience at stations and within train coaches, increase number of stoppages as well as frequency of the trips to cover most of the trips made by commuters.