Wishful thinking? Addressing the long-term implications of COVID-19 for transport in Nigeria

Mogaji, Emmanuel

Abstract

With their inherent economic and infrastructure challenges, developing countries must assess commuters’ travel behaviour and establish whether consumers’ desire for sustainable transportation is feasible or merely wishful thinking. Using a qualitative research design, these issues were explored based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 72 participants across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Findings suggest that the desires and dreams of the commuters are great, and they want to reduce their journeys, work from home, and do online shopping. However, when they consider the inherent challenges, they can only hope for a better future. COVID-19 has impacted the ownership or use of motorised and non-motorised transport, but this is also influenced by affordability, convenience, and awareness. Likewise, there are long-term effects on home and work location choices, but this is further influenced by the large informal economy of the country, job accessibility and the infrastructural developments across the country.

Citation

Mogaji, E. (2022). Wishful thinking? Addressing the long-term implications of COVID-19 for transport in Nigeria. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 105, Article 103206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103206

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 31, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Feb 23, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-04
• Deposit Date: Jun 1, 2023
• Journal: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
• Print ISSN: 1361-9209
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 105
• Article Number: 103206
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103206
• Keywords: General Environmental Science; Transportation; Civil and Structural Engineering
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Wishful thinking? Addressing the long-term implications of COVID-19 for transport in Nigeria; Journal Title: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103206; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2022 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.