OPINIONS OF END USERS AND TRANSPORT PROFESSIONALS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ROADS IN EKITI STATE, SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

Transport, the movement of people, goods and services is so key and important in the socio-economic development of any region or nation. To this end, government at all levels is always conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective transportation system for their teaming population. This they do by committing huge amount of money to the provision and maintenance of transport infrastructures. Despite these efforts of government, the transportation situations of developing countries and Nigeria in particular are nothing to write home about. The limited and scanty transportation facilities provided are performing below the expectations of the reasons why they are provided. Hence, this work on the opinion of end-users and Transport professionals on the performance of roads in Ekiti State was designed to gather the opinion of the these categories of people on how best the roads in Ekiti State, Nigeria allow for efficient movement of people, goods and services. Data for this study was collected through the use of questionnaire administered on 600 respondents’ tagged end-users selected from six Local Government Areas spread across the three senatorial districts in the state. Sixty (60) same questionnaires were also administered on Transport Professionals to get their opinion on the performance of roads in the study area. Simple percentages and tables were used to analyse data. The study revealed that congestion along major roads in some cities in the study area is a major concern for motorists. Furthermore, findings revealed that the frequent occurrence of road traffic accidents in the study area is a major concern for motorists. The study recommended dualization of major roads in urban centers in the study area, discouragement of under aged driving along Ekiti roads and provisions of adequate security for life and property along Ekiti roads to enhance their better performance.