Population Vulnerability to the State of Public Transport in Bamenda city, Cameroon

Abstract: Cities all over the world and particularly in the developing countries are experiencing problems of increasing motorization, severe congestion, pollution, safety concerns, insufficient transport infrastructure and socio-economic exclusion. This study seeks to examine the vulnerability of different demographic groups to the state of public transport and develops a conceptual framework on how susceptible and exposed they are to the conditions of public transport (PT) in Bamenda. In order to achieve this objective, a cross-sectional research design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analysed. Systematic field surveys via the administration of 400 questionnaires within different demographic groups, focused group discussions and structured interviews with household heads and urban transport agents were conducted. Collected data was analysed descriptively and quantitatively. Findings showed that the majority (52%) of the population make use of PT on a daily basis for work, school, business, employment, social and other purposes. The most preferred means include taxi (65.50), motor cycle (41.75%) and bus (20.50%). There is poor neighbourhood coverage (51%) of PT services and most of the residents considered PT as unaffordable because taxi is expensive especially over short distances of between 0-2km (61.76%, 29.41% and 8.82% for Bamenda I, II and III respectively). The majority of the population (38%) equally feel unsafe using PT especially within the context of the on-gong socio-political crisis in the area, while the majority (51%) further rated the overall condition of PT vehicles to be poor. The most vulnerable demographic group to the currently poor conditions of PT include the individuals with disabilities (30%), the elderly/older persons (60+) (25%), women (2%), lowly paid workers and unemployed people (29%) and students/pupils (14%), who continue to experience key challenges including poor service quality, unaffordability, health/safety concerns, congestion and delays and the absence of zebra crossing. The identified indicators of the poor PT conditions include health and safety concerns (13%), inadequate access to PT facilities (7%), long waiting/movement time (14%), poverty/lack of finance (23%), inaccessibility by individuals with disabilities (6%) and inadequate of PT facilities (37%). All these have caused the vulnerable populations to be highly exposed to the current state of PT in the city. The study develops a conceptual framework on how susceptible and exposed specific demographic groups are to the poor conditions of PT in the area which equally suggest how PT could be improved upon in order to better serve these groups in the future.