Investigating the moral behaviour of public transport users in returning lost but found items

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow chart of data collection methodology.

Figure 2. Map of Accra metropolitan area (Ghana Statistical Service [GSS], 2014).

Figure 3. Religious representation in Ghana (Sasu, 2022b).

Table 1. Demographic, travel behaiour and religious & economic parameters of respondents.

RELIGIOUS & ECONOMIC FACTORS	NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS		PERCENTAGE (%)
Age (15–25) years (26–35) years (36–45) years (46–55) years (> 56) years Gender Male Female	274 215 89 23 2 318 285		45.44 35.66 14.96 3.81 0.33 52.74 47.26
Employment Status Student Unemployed Employed (private or public worker) Self-employed (business or entrepreneur) Retired Personal Income per Month Below 500 ghc 501–1000 ghc 1001–3000 ghc 3001–5000 ghc Above 5000 ghc DO not want to answer	275 19 221 87 1 154 122 106 29 12 180		45.60 3.15 36.65 14.43 0.17 25.54 20.23 17.58 4.81 1.99 29.85
Marital Status Married Divorces Single (Not Married) Widower/widow Separated Level of Education No education Basic education SHS/vocational/technical education Tertiary education	131 13 455 1 3 17 72 90 424		21.72 2.16 75.46 0.17 0.50 2.82 11.94 14.93 70.32
TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR
Category Passenger Driver Driver’s mate Station master Regular usage of PT Very regular Regular Somewhat regular Not regular	505 67 23 8 291 200 91 21		83.75 11.11 3.81 1.33 48.26 33.17 15.09 3.48
PT usage per Week All days of the week Four to six days/week Two to three days/week Once/week Not at all Frequency of Lost Item Very often Often Not often Not all	224 141 151 66 21 23 24 281 275		37.15 23.38 25.04 10.95 3.48 3.81 3.98 46.60 45.61
Attentiveness when passenger alights very attentive little attentive not attentive	251 295 57		41.63 48.92 9.45
Religious affiliation (group) Christianity Islam African Traditional others Commitment to Doctrine Deeply committed Committed Somehow committed Not committed		515 76 5 7 236 304 56 8		85.41 12.60 0.83 1.16 39.14 50.41 9.29 1.16
Religious Teaching on Theft Very well Well Somewhat well Not well Economic issues influence decision Highly influence Influence Somewhat influence Not influence Return of Item Yes No		501 78 16 8 133 171 132 168 536 67		83.08 12.94 2.65 1.33 22.06 28.36 21.89 27.69 88.89 11.11

Figure 4. Some PT users’ commentaries on return of lost items.

Figure 5. Some PT users’ commentaries not to return lost items.

Table 2. Respondents most preferred trip types, transport mode and economic difficulties.

TRIP TYPE
		Responses
		N	Percent	Percent of Cases
TRIP TYPE	COMMUTING	407	39.1%	67.5%
	SHOPPING	198	19.0%	32.8%
	FAMILY & FRIENDS	154	14.8%	25.5%
	RELIGIOUS TRIPS	128	12.3%	21.2%
	BUSINESS TRIP	154	14.8%	25.5%
Total		1041	100.0%	172.6%
TRANSPORT MODE
		Responses
		N	Percent	Percent of Cases
TRANSPORT MODE	COACHES	124	12.6%	20.6%
	PARATRANSIT	407	41.3%	67.5%
	SHARED TAXI	183	18.6%	30.3%
	LONE PASSENGER	214	21.7%	35.5%
	RICKSHAW (PRAGIA)	23	2.3%	3.8%
	MOTORCYCLE (OKADA)	35	3.5%	5.8%
Total		986	100.0%	163.5%
ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES
		Responses
		N	Percent	Percent of Cases
ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES	GEN. HARDSHIP	405	45.0%	67.2%
	UNSETTLED BILLS	112	12.4%	18.6%
	DEBT	110	12.2%	18.2%
	BUSS CHALLENES	176	19.5%	29.2%
	LEGAL ISSUES	28	3.1%	4.6%
	NONE	70	7.8%	11.6%
Total		901	100.0%	149.4%

Figure 6. Graph of frequency of lost item against return of item.

Figure 7. Graph of religious affiliation against return of item.

Figure 8. Graph of economic influence against return of item.

Table 3. Lose of items, religious group and economic influence against return of item.

LOSEITEM * RETURN_ITEM
		RETURN_ITEM
		YES	NO	Total
LOSE ITEM	VERY OFTEN	23	0	23
	OFTEN	22	2	24
	NOT OFTEN	245	36	281
	NEVER	246	29	275
Total		536	67	603
REL_GROUP * RETURN_ITEM
		RETURN_ITEM
		YES	NO	Total
REL_GROUP	CHRISTIANITY	467	48	515
	ISLAM	64	12	76
	AFRICAN TRADITION	2	3	5
	OTHERS	3	4	7
Total		536	67	603
ECO_INFLUENCE * RETURN_ITEM
		RETURN_ITEM
		YES	NO	Total
ECO_ INFLUENCE	HIGLY INFLUENCE	106	27	133
	INFLUENCE	144	27	171
	SOMEWHAT INFLU	123	8	131
	NOT INFLUENCE	163	5	168
Total		536	536	603

Table 4. Factors that triggers decision to return or not return lost but found items by PT users.

Return Factors	Mean	Standard Deviation (SD)	Sig	Rank
Value of item	3.25	2.08	0.001	6
Empathy	4.37	1.92	0.001	2
Personal Values	4.22	1.97	0.001	3
Fear of perceived consequence	3.45	2.03	0.001	5
Religious Values	4.41	1.97	0.001	1
Mental discomfort (Conscience)	3.94	2.62	0.001	4
Not Return Factors	Mean	Standard Deviation (SD)	sig	Rank
Value of item	3.52	2.08	0.001	6
Economic Hardship	4.64	1.90	0.001	1
Time Pressure	4.63	1.67	0.001	2
Convenience	4.12	1.51	0.001	5
Misrepresent	4.17	2.07	0.001	4
Insufficient Appreciation	4.42	1.90	0.001	3

Ghana Statistical Service, GSS (2014). 2010 population and housing census. District analytical report, Accra metropolitan”.

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Sasu, D. D. (2022b). “Religious affiliation of the population in Ghana in 2010 and 2021”. Statista, Society & Religion. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1172414/religious-affiliation-in-ghana/

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