ASSESSMENT OF OVERLOADING AND SAFETY PROBLEMS OF INTERCITY PUBLIC PASSENGER TRANSPORT ALONG MINNA-SULEJA ROAD, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This research focuses on the overloading and safety problems of intercity
public passenger transport along Minna-Suleja Road. The primary data were obtained
through structured questionnaires administered to motorists and field surveys, whereas the
secondary data were sourced from passenger manifests and FRSC accident records. The
study adopted a mixed-method approach in which data were gathered by administering
questionnaires to 150 motorists via a simple random sampling technique. The sample
population was obtained from the passenger manifests of NURTW, RTEAN and NARTO at
3 major terminal facilities in Minna (i.e. Mobil, Abdul-Salaam Park and Kure New Market
Motor Park). The findings revealed that the most active travellers in road transport are youths
between the age brackets of 21-30 years and 31-40 years, having a combined frequency and
percentage of 84% and 56%, respectively. Gender composition shows that 58.7% were male
and 41.3% were female. The marital status shows that 26% were single, while 64% were
married. Additionally, the result revealed that 31.3% of the travellers were into
trading/business, with 24% being civil servants. Business and work trips had the highest
number of trip purposes, with 44.7% and 23.3% respectively. 33.3% of passengers find fare
barely affordable, and 34% find overloading of vehicles terrible. The nonchalant attitude of
drivers ranked highest, with a mean score of 1.65, as a factor causing overloading, with
vehicle integrity ranking highest as a significant effect of overloading on travel, with a mean
score of 2.37. Finally, notable surges occurred in 2016 and 2017, where the number of RTC
cases reached 907 and 943, respectively. The study recommends that FRSC and DRT need to
intensify the enforcement of vehicle load limits and severe penalties for violators.