Urban Bus Terminal Operations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Perspectives from Bamenda City- Cameroon

Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing unprecedented urbanization and growth in its cities and this has caused spontaneous development of Urban Bus Terminals (UBTs) to meet the travel demands of urban residents. What is most striking is the current state of the bus stations plagued by poor organization, inadequate infrastructure and limited accessibility. These factors in Bamenda city contributes to mobility challenges and possess a real bottleneck for a sustainable planning and management of the city. This paper is built to reflect on (i) the current state of UBTs in Bamenda city, (ii) operational challenges faced (iii) and proposed sustainable pathways for effective bus terminal operation in Bamenda. A sample of 275 key participants (UBTs operators, urban planners, drivers, bike riders and commuters) were interviewed using questionnaires complemented by informant interviews with relevant transport authorities notably transport agencies operators and transport delegates in the city. Major findings indicate that the spatial organization of bus terminals in Bamenda are disorganized, with terminals located just 1-2 meters from roadways, and lacking designated spaces, which contributes to traffic congestion and inefficient travel experiences for residents. While they pose these challenges, they equally showcase specific strength in services offer to users such as higher quality mail services (73.8%) and security (65.4%) at the level of transport agency Bus Terminals likewise council Bus Terminals that excel in trading spaces (55.3%) and circulation areas (80.0%). By learning from the challenges, policymakers and urban planners can develop strategies to create efficient, accessible, and user-friendly bus terminals.