Perception of commuter rail transit riders/users of train services on the Accra-Nsawam Corridor

ABSTRACT

Commuter trains are a popular mode of transportation among low-income earners in Ghana. However, due to the economic turmoil of the 1970s, the government struggled to invest in and manage this travel option effectively. With the increasing trend towards mass commuter services worldwide, this study aimed to examine how commuters perceive the quality of railway services in Ghana, using the Accra-Nsawam corridor as a case study. The study involved an on-board survey of 430 passengers using questionnaires. The results showed that factors such as speed, punctuality, safety, comfort, and improved customer care were significant predictors of commuters’ preference for commuter services. However, variables such as advanced technology and ticketing systems were found to be less important. The study recommends expanding rail services to other parts of the country while simultaneously improving technology.

KEYWORDS:

• Ghana
• Commuter rail transit
• Urban transportation
• Corridor
• Train services

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the commitment and efforts of all research participants, proof-readers and anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors did not receive support from any organisation for the submitted work.

Data availability statement

The data is available via https://figshare.com/s/642a4b8da1e1efa29d17

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethical Approval

This study adhered to the University of Cape Coast’s ethical standards, which align with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and other comparable ethical standards for all activities involving human participants. The data analysis was conducted using completely anonymised data, and no animals were used as subjects in this study.