Transport vulnerability: Measuring travel time and expenditure budget in Addis Ababa

Public transport is critical for urban dwellers as it is a key link to access economic opportunities and social services. However, transit services in most developing nations are characterized by longer journey time, high fare, unsafe and uncomfortable travel. Hence, this study seeks to analyze the travel experience of public transit users through the lens of vulnerability. The main objective of the research is to investigate transit users’ expenditure on travel, both in terms of time and money, which are regarded as “budgets” allocated to travel. The analysis is based on a survey distributed to 457 public transit users in Addis Ababa. The study applied proportions, percentages and cross-tabulation of key variables and statistical methods, such as one-way ANOVA to analyze the level of vulnerability of transit users. The result shows that low- and middle-income groups bear a higher level of travel burden, in terms of total travel time and percentage of income spent on transport than high income groups. Transport expenditure accounted above 20% of household income for 88% of low-income groups. However, it is below 15% of household income for high income groups, which reveals less financial burden on them. In terms of travel time, 63.8% of middle income groups experience a total travel time of more than 2 h and 52.3% of low-income groups but only 36.3% of high-income groups devote a total travel time above 2 h. Therefore, transport policy formulation should consider the needs and challenges of various groups of transit users.