The Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) is to undertake a Household Travel Survey to procure sustainable and efficient transportation data to inform policy in the sector.
Under the Ghana Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project (GUMAP) with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the survey will commence on July 24, 2023 and end on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
The survey would cover 7,500 households across diverse communities within the 29 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) in Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and peri-urban areas like Nsawam/Adoagyiri and Awutu Senya East.
Respondents would feature all members of a household six years and above.
The objective of the project is to improve accessibility and mobility through Technical Assistance, Surveys, Capacity Building and Data Collection in GAMA.
In a statement on behalf of the Minister, Dan Botwe, at the launch of the survey in Accra on Wednesday, the Director of Human Resource at the ministry, Kwabena Denkyira, said the survey would offer solution to the transportation needs of the GAMA.
“This is a unique effort to gather comprehensive data on travel patterns, behaviours, and transportation demands of residents of the GAMA to inform transport planning and management and to contribute to the development of a sustainable and efficient transportation system that meets the needs of residents of GAMA.
“This survey aims to collect information to help us understand how and why people move from their homes every day, determine their travel patterns within and between our cities and as well as identify factors influencing their choice for a particular mode and means of travel.
“It will also provide crucial insights into the experiences of different households on their transport choices and trip satisfaction which will in turn contribute significantly to developing efficient transportation strategies and policies that cater for the unique needs of citizens,” he said.
According to Mr Denkyira, during the survey period, officially assigned and well identified enumerators would visit selected households to administer questionnaires that comprehensively capture travel-related information.
The questions, he said, would cover topics such as travel mode preferences – trotro or private vehicle – trip duration, purpose of travel, frequency of travel, cost of travel, access to transportation options, and challenges faced during travel amongst others.
As part of the publicity drive of the survey, Mr Denkyira said mainstream media, new media, posters, jingles, Information Service Department public address vans would be used to educate the respondents before the take-off of the survey.
“The success of the survey and the subsequent improvement of transportation planning in GAMA largely depend on the information provided by residents.
“Participation in the Household Travel Survey is voluntary, and all data collected will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and used strictly for research and policy purposes,” he assured.
Targeted assemblies include Accra Metro, Tema Metro, Ga West, La Nkwantanang Madina, Ga Central, Ga East, Ga South, Tema West, Ashaiman, Kpone Katamanso, Ledzokuku, Krowor, Korley Klottey, La Dade-Kotopon, Ayawaso North, Ayawaso East, and Ayawaso Central.
The rest are Okaikwei North, Adentan, Ayawaso West, Ga North, Ablekuma Central, Ablekuma West, Ablekuma North, Weija-Gbawe, Gomoa East, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Awutu Senya East and Ningo Prampram District Assembly
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
