Assessing the impact of route specialisation and service attributes on the operational effectiveness of intercity public transport in north-central Nigeria

Abstract

An effective public transport system has continued to be an integral part of any functioning society, as it helps in meeting the mobility needs of people. Hence, attaining effective public transport is at the core of Nigeria's transport policies. However, there is a lack of robust evidence-based studies on the effectiveness of intercity public transport in Nigeria. This study, therefore, carried out a comprehensive evaluation of intercity public transport operations in Nigeria with the focus on selected intercity public transport service providers in North-central Nigeria. The study used primary data collected through questionnaires administered to the purposively selected forty-eight (48) intercity public transport operators and 324 passengers across four states in North-central Nigeria (Benue, Kwara, Niger, and Plateau States). The data were analysed using two-stage Slack-Based Modified Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA) and robust right-truncated Tobit regression. The findings revealed that eighteen (37.5%) operators were fully operationally effective (θ= 1), two (4.17%) were fairly operationally effective (0.6≤ θ<1), while twenty-eight (58.33%) were operationally ineffective (θ < 0.6), and the region is fairly operationally effective on average (θ = 0.624). The robust right truncated Tobit regression employed in the second stage shows that service reliability (β=0.910; p=0.00315), comfort (β =1.272; p=0.0008), and commuters’ safety perception (β=1.565; p=0.000) had a significant positive impact on the operational effectiveness. In addition, the positive (negative) impact of route specialisation (number of routes) (β=-0.0176; p=0.0064) was found. Hence, operators should enhance safety measures, monitor reliability, engage in public-private partnerships to facilitate funding for modern fleets that improve riders’ comfort, and rationalise their operating routes for effective operations.