Gender Disparities in the Access and Use of Urban Public Transport in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigerian cities, many different urban mass transit modes convey people from one point to another. However, each gender faces unique challenges and has different experiences of accessing and using public transport systems in metropolitan cities such as Abuja, especially with its growing increase in infrastructural development and its being the seat of government. Most studies of urban mobility have been undertaken in developed countries; there is little evidence on this subject in developing countries such as Nigeria. This paper aims to assess gender disparities in the access and use of urban public transport in Abuja, Nigeria. This research explored individual experiences and challenges in accessing and using public transport services and making recommendations for improvements. A mixed design approach was used to collect primary data comprising qualitative and quantitative data to achieve the research goal. Qualitative data were collected by conducting a focus group discussion which aided the researcher in gathering the overall perceptions of public transport commuters in terms of structure, experience, and challenges, and was subsequently used in designing a questionnaire for the quantitative data. This research sought to fill a gap in knowledge of gender disparities in public transport use in Abuja, Nigeria, by looking into the structure of the public transport system and how it affects men and women differently. The research findings revealed that females use more public transport services than males, that demographic characteristics affected respondents’ choices of public transport use, and that trip-related characteristics played a vital role in their use of public transport. It further revealed that men are generally more satisfied and face fewer challenges than women in accessing and using public transport services. There is, therefore, a need to improve the system to cater for the different mobility needs of women and to develop policies and frameworks to regulate the delivery of public transport services in Nigeria.