Assessment of Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Travel Mode Choice in Tertiary Institutions in Gombe Metropolis, Nigeria

This study investigated the influence of socio-economic factors on travel mode choice among staff and students of tertiary institutions in Gombe Metropolis, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed to carry out the study. Four hundred (400) copies of a structured questionnaire representing the sample size of the study were administered. The questionnaire was administered with the help of trained field assistants. Both stratified and simple random sampling techniques were utilized to ensure a good representative of the sample size suitable for the study. Data obtained from the field survey were subjected to univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses. The findings of this study revealed that, gender and age were among the major factors influencing travel mode choice in the study area. The findings also revealed that, the most commonly used mode of transportation in the study area was tricycle, followed by car and motorcycle. The study concluded that factors like genger, age and income among others were major determinants of mode choice in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends among others that government should through conditional cash transfer provide subsidies or financial incentives for students and staff from low-income backgrounds to ensure seamless academic activities within and outside the campuses. Also, the school managements should collaborate with Gombe State government through Gombe Line Transport Service provide shuttles buses in all the tertiary institutions in the state to cushion the effects of high transportation cost among staff and students.