This study is aimed at assessing the status and prospects of the intelligent transport system (ITS) supply in Addis Ababa. It uses a mixed method approach, and data are collected from primary and secondary sources, which include survey questions, interviews and literature reviews. Simple random and purposive sampling were employed to select passengers and interviewees, respectively. SPSS 23 and NVivo 14 software were used for analysis. Binary logistic regression was employed to measure the effects of age, prior awareness of intelligent transport systems and income on ITS use. This study has identified opportunities, challenges and strategies of ITS adoption. It analyzes the advantages of ITSs, such as service reliability, accountability, safety and improved revenue generation. The study highlighted the challenges in ITS adoption, such as the absence of sustainable financing mechanism, skill gaps, digital connectivity failure, institutional fragmentation, the absence of coordinating institution and leading policy. The study has identified strategies to address these challenges, including the introduction of proper ITS policy, the devising of sustainable finance sources, improvements in digital connectivity, skill training and institutional integration. This study contributes by bridging the global framework and local reality through data-driven context sensitive road maps for integrating ITS technology in the management of public transport supply in Addis Ababa.

An in-depth understanding of travel behavior underpins the development of efficient and sustainable urban transport systems. While several studies have examined aspects of urban mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa, comprehensive and in-depth studies remain limited across most cities in the region. Consequently, many urban contexts in this area are still underexplored, particularly in Ethiopia, the mobility dynamics and the factors that influence it are unknown. Therefore, this study explores the urban mobility behavior of emerging cities and its relationships with individual and household attributes in Bahir Dar. To this end, data was collected through a household travel survey from 2,000 participants, selected using cluster and systematic sampling techniques, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, SEM and curve fitting techniques using SPSS, R, and AMOS. The findings showed that the travel characteristics of residents vary among individuals based on personal and household attributes. Overall, Bahir Dar residents made on average 2.4 daily trips, with a trip rate of 2.5 for men predominantly for work and administrative service purposes, and 2.33 trips undertaken by women mainly for shopping, social affairs and health purposes. Demographically, females, the elderly and relatively young group of populations tended to make fewer and shorter distance travels compared to other groups. The results of the structural equation model have proved the relationships between identified characteristics of travelers and their travel behavior. As a result, transport system attributes (β = 0.98), economic characteristics (β = 0.96), household size (β = 0.96), and number of workers in households (β = 0.94) were key factors influencing travel behavior in emerging cities. However, gender, possession of a driving license, and land use variables were found to be less significant in determining the travel behavior of residents. Besides filling the research gap, this study recommends the consideration of travel variations among different socio-demographic and economic groups when developing various city plans, policies and traffic management interventions.

This study assesses failures in public transport operational management emphasizing on gaps in policies, strategies, and regulations. Using a mixed-methods approach, data is collected through surveys from 505 respondents, interviews, and focus group discussion (FGD). Simple random and purposive sampling is used to select passenger, interview and focus group discussion participants. SPSS and NVivo software is used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Three modes of public transport (bus, mini-bus taxi and midi-bus are included in the study. The result identified unaffordability, overcrowding, inaccessibility and longer waiting time as challenges of public transport. Absence of centralized control system, real-time data and advanced analytics to predict and address demand-supply mismatches, lack of different affordability intervention strategies, absence of demand management strategies, absence of public private partnership to finance supply, inability to devise own public transport financing mechanisms are found to be gaps in management of supply failures. In spite of the growing body of research on public transport failures in Addis Ababa, there are no studies that which analyze failure’s management on road-based public transport system. Hence, the study contributes to the transport literature by delivering practical insights into supply failure management and policy gaps in developing city settings.

The Ethiopian government has established a land administration system to implement land policy principles outlined in the Constitution, the Urban Land Development and Management Policy and Strategy (ULDMPS), and the Urban Land Lease Holding Proclamation No. 721/2011. This study assesses the implementation of urban land policy in Addis Ababa through the lens of global land administration principles, focusing on the perceptions of land administration experts. A mixed-methods approach was used, gathering primary data from 318 experts at federal, city, and sub-city levels working in land development and management offices across Addis Ababa. This was supplemented by 30 in-depth interviews. Preliminary interviews identified six key themes affecting policy implementation: alignment between policy goals and administrative practices, distribution of policy benefits, operational performance of the Land Development and Management (LDM) Office, urban land supply for affordable housing and redevelopment, persistence of informal properties, and protection of public land from illegal occupation. Reliability analysis showed moderate to good consistency among expert responses, with intra-class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.562 to 0.857. The findings reveal significant gaps between policy intentions and implementation outcomes, emphasizing the need for improvement in Ethiopia’s urban land administration system. The study highlights areas where current practices fall short and offers evidence-based insights to support informed decision-making by city officials. The paper recommends institutional reforms, improved transparency, increased citizen participation, and technology-driven solutions to strengthen land administration processes and rebuild public trust in Addis Ababa’s land governance system.

Emerging cities like Addis Ababa are now facing rapid urbanization and motorization, which results in an increasing urban mobility challenges. Despite the global advancements in sustainable mobility, these cities are struggling with limited public transport that largely relies on informal and low-capacity transport modes and automobile use, causing traffic congestion, road traffic fatalities, noise pollution, and vehicle emission-related challenges. This paper aims to identify the sustainable transport strategies and key barriers to the implementation of these strategies, taking Addis Ababa as a case study. The study is based on empirical evidence from residents’ and experts’ perspectives, with the support of desk reviews. The analysis was done using descriptive analysis and ordinal logistic regression. The result revealed that the transport strategies in the study city emphasized promoting non-motorized and public transport, mobility management, planning considerations for land use and transport integration, adoption of technological solutions, institutional reforms, and awareness campaigns. It was found that most of the strategies are on paper without effective implementation, and the prevalence of pressing mobility challenges characterizes the city. The findings also indicated that the implementations of various ambitious sustainable transport strategies are constrained by financial shortage, and poor institutional quality with bad governance and management systems, together with weak coordination among institutions. Additionally, a lack of guiding framework for sustainable urban mobility, a lack of political commitment and leadership towards sustainable transport solutions, limited technological adoption, and socio-cultural attitude towards car use with limited alternative mobility options influenced the implementation of the stated strategies. This study suggests addressing the barriers comprehensively and the need for adopting a cost-effective strategy tailored to the study city context in Addis Ababa that helps with the transition toward sustainable mobility and livability.

With poor transportation infrastructure and increased reliance on motorization, fast-growing cities in the Global South that are experiencing rapid urbanization have received less attention in terms of sustainable transportation research. In this regard, it is imperative to support active mobility and public transit that help to reduce vehicle emissions, traffic congestion, road fatalities, and energy depletion while supporting public health, robust economies, and social equity. However, in the emerging cities context, the adoption of sustainable transportation options are constrained by various factors. This study aims to explore the key factors hindering the adoption of sustainable transportation options in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. To do so, travel survey data were gathered from 720 households using stratified sampling and analyzed using factor analysis. The results from factor analysis indicated five groups of factors hindering residents’ intention to adopt sustainable transportation options, including (1) infrastructure condition, (2) modal characteristics, (3) land use pattern, (4) policy framework, and (5) technology-related factors. The confirmatory factor analysis also depicts the five latent factors and the contributions of observed variables that are statistically significant (p < 0.01). More specifically, observed variables such as (i) inadequate pedestrian facilities, (ii) lack of bike facilities, (iii) poor public transit facilities, (iv) limited availability of reliable public transport, (v) long wait times, (vi) high public transport fare, (vii) discomfort, (viii) safety and security issues are the most significant factors. Another set of factors includes (ix) walking distance, (x) dispersed land use pattern, (xi) poor land use mix, (xii) inadequate policy support, and (xiii) lack of real-time information. Furthermore, the intention to adopt sustainable modes of transportation is influenced by socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, age, educational status, income, family size, and car ownership. The result contributes to the existing literature by providing insight into adopting sustainable transportation modes in emerging cities like Addis Ababa, which are characterized by several urban transportation challenges.

Urbanization in developing countries like Ethiopia is taking place at an unprecedented rate. This, coupled with the rapid industrialization process, puts enormous pressure on preparing and implementing city spatial plans. As a result, most development in many cities is taking place without clear planning guidelines and lacks the institutional capacity to realize effectively the urban spatial plans. Galan and Dukem cities, located near the capital Addis Ababa, have attracted substantial industrial development investment in recent decades. This article examines the nexus between urban spatial planning and industrial development by analyzing the current urban structure plans of the two cities using institutionalist and political economy approaches. The research methodology involves key informant interviews, an expert survey, personal observation, and reviewing secondary sources. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The EFA identifies three latent variables that affect urban spatial planning performances, including the level of institutions' and actors' involvement, the state of spatial plan implementation, and the lack of public participation in planning and implementation processes. These three dimensions explain 75% of the total variations, with each accounting for 35%, 24%, and 16% respectively. The study argues that the lack of planned investment allocation and poor urban spatial plan-making and implementation hinder sustainable urban development and result in haphazard development. The successful implementation of urban spatial plans requires the involvement of various actors and strong institutional support. Therefore, urban spatial decisions need to receive policy attention to ensure efficient and sustainable urban and industrial development.

Economic developments affect urban land-use changes. Using Lefebvre's production of (urban) space as a conceptual framework, this study investigated the industrialisation process and its urban spatial outcomes in three cities (Galan, Dukem, and Bishoftu) along the southern outlet of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Landsat images were used to quantify the changing patterns of the three cities from the period 2006 to 2021. Interviews with key informants and document analysis were used to supplement these findings. The analysis reveals that in Addis Ababa-Bishoftu economic growth corridor, the unruly urban land-use changes have become a serious issue, challenging the sustainable development of cities. The study confirms that the proximity to Addis Ababa has contributed to the urbanisation process and urban corridor formation through investment expansion. This calls for a high level of expertise as well as integrated regional development for sustainable urban and industrial development.

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.

Ethiopia’s special economic zone (SEZ) development program features fuzzy knowledge about location decision-making and its effect on host urban resident’s quality of life (QOL). This study looks into SEZ’s location decisions and the effect on the quality of life by considering Bole Lemi-1 (BL-1) and Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ) cases from central Ethiopia. The research anchors on conceptual frameworks of composited industrial location, political economy, and QOL. A household sample survey, in-depth interviews, and scanning of secondary information were employed. The subjective QOL indicators were analyzed using descriptive, exploratory analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) techniques. The BL-1 and EIZ practices portray the SEZ location decisions in the country were largely driven politically with minimal techno-economic rationales, featuring a top-down approach and less participatory. The EFA result depicts that the ‘Governance’ structure witnessed high factor loadings with the strongest contribution in relative terms that can explain 25.29% of the total variance in QOL indicators. The ‘Environment’, ‘Economic’ and ‘Sociocultural’ factors can explain 16.75%, 14.69%, and 9.31% of the total variance, respectively. The CFA confirms the EFA-identified factors suggesting the influence of the identified variables on the QOL. We argue that there is a close association between a special economic zone location decision and people’s QOL residing near zones. Yet, the extent depends on how well the swing balance across political and techno-economic dimensions is justified. We further debate that sub-components of QOL may have varying significance and influences under different geographies, policy environments, and the development status of countries.

Industry development is among the key productive sectors the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) identified to attain middle-income country status. Despite multiple interventions, the sector remains underdeveloped, unable to contribute towards the desired structural transformation of the economy, while its development process has produced more challenges. Based on political economy and urban sustainability livelihood frameworks, this article examines the industrialization process and its socioeconomic outcomes in three cities - Galan, Dukem, and Bishoftu. A household survey, key informant interviews, and document review were conducted to collect the necessary data, and the information gathered was analyzed using multivariate analysis techniques. The dominant variables considered by the communities regarding the outcome of the industrialization process were generated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA1). The findings indicate that the ongoing industrialization process in the three cities has resulted in various ramifications on livelihood and sustainable development, casting doubt on the catalytic role of industrialization. Even though the proximity of the cities to the capital, Addis Ababa, has contributed to urbanization through investment expansion, the PCA2 results reveal that proximity to the primate city is adversely linked with urban development. Besieged by haphazard settlement patterns and irregularities in land administration, the emphasis on industrialization has been detrimental to the quality of the urban environment as well as to the life of residents. The article concludes that investment decisions should consider improving communities' livelihood to manage urbanization and industrialization properly; thus, macroeconomic policies, including industrial policies, should pay attention to local communities' socioeconomic activities and well-being.

Special economic zones (SEZs) are places of exception with specific regimes and territorial boundaries that are effectively secluded from the rest of their surroundings. Ethiopia adopted SEZ development programs recently as an instrument of industrialization in its economic policy framework. This study tries to examine the triggering effect of SEZs in bringing socio-spatial transformations to their surroundings and host cities based on the enclave urbanism conceptual framework. The study considered Bole Lemi-1 (BL-1) and Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ) SEZs in Ethiopia. It used satellite images, a household survey, key informant interviews, observations, and a review of secondary sources to gather data. Spatio-temporal satellite images were obtained from the United States Geological Survey for 2008, 2014, and 2021. Randomly selected 384 households residing within 5 km radius of the SEZs were surveyed. Land use land cover (LULC) change analysis detected a consistent rise in the built-up area at the expense of shrinking farmlands and open spaces. The survey results reflect socio-cultural, economic, and environmental changes witnessed around the zones, while other stakeholders, including experts and officials, question the claimed transformation. The Mann-Whitney U tests (α = 0.05) result revealed significant statistical differences between EIZ and BL-1 in terms of socio-cultural and environmental transformations. In contrast, perceptions towards economic change showed no statistical differences. While the perspectives reflected in the study are open to continuous debate and further nuance before making bold conclusions, the analyses on the case SEZs signify the juxtaposition feature of zone permeability and enclaveness. We contend that the socio-spatial shifts triggered by the SEZs remain elusive unless pre-engineered with clear objectives and indicators at the outset. SEZ's development policy agendas recommended engraining a porous-enclave principle in their development blueprint.

This research paper analyzes urban travel mode preference in Addis Ababa using a survey distributed to 457 public transit users. The article highlights the details of individual travel and then discusses the implications of the travel patterns for transport policy in the city. The study employed percentages and run multinomial logistic regression to analyze the relationship between mode choice, travel characteristics and socio-economic features of individuals. In terms of mode choice and the influential factors, the analysis shows that income, age, travel expenditure and distance are the determining factors that affect mode choice. It was also found that the privately owned public transport, Taxi (mini-bus) and Higer (midi-bus) form the dominant mode of transport used by closely half percent (41.3%) of the survey respondents. On the basis of our analysis, we suggest that policies have to be devised to make government owned public transport service better in order to support a shift from using low occupancy vehicles to high occupancy vehicles which ultimately solve the problem of congestion and environmental pollution.

Rapid urbanization has resulted in a slew of issues, including urban transportation, in most emerging countries' cities. Public transportation provides transportation for the community and plays an important role in the daily lives of the city's citizens, particularly the urban poor, by reducing travel costs and providing job opportunities. Thus, evaluating public bus service performance from the perspective of users is critical for identifying service operators' strengths and deficiencies. Consequently, the primary goal of this research is to determine the level of consumer satisfaction with public bus service in the city and identify the most important factors that influence satisfaction. Hence, a survey was carried out between December and January 2020. Stratified sampling approaches were used to obtain data from 500 travelers. Factor analysis and customer satisfaction index were used to analyze the data collected. Lastly, the findings show that users were quietly satisfied (0.54) with the quality of the bus services supplied in the city. Moreover, travelers were better satisfied with attributes that related to availability (0.64) and less satisfied with attributes under timeliness (0.50) and security (0.48). Therefore, service operators and other concerned stakeholders should give urgent attention to attributes under timeliness and security to enhance users’ satisfaction in the provision of bus service in the city.

Although there are several objective measurements of the socioeconomic benefits of public transportation, the subjective evaluation of 'service benefits' is equally important, especially for cities with large populations that are dependent on public transportation. Addis Ababa launched the first Light Rail Transit (LRT) to overcome the transportation challenges the city has been facing such as congestion, shortage of public transportation service and environmental pollution. The LRT was, thus, designed to offer residents with the viable option of mobility and provide increased comfort, efficiency and attractiveness of the overall public transportation system. It is believed that the system has substantially contributed to the alleviation of the acute transportation shortages along transit corridors. However, service benefits are not scientifically measured from the views of the users. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand riders' perception toward the service benefits of the LRT using eight socioeconomic attributes. Ordered logit model analysis was employed to examine the influencing predictors affecting passengers' perceptions toward the socioeconomic benefits. The results showed that Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) is providing benefits related to reducing travel distance, travel cost, and traffic problems, and these perceived benefits are varying as the passengers' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics vary. Improvement of the overall service with consideration of passengers' socio-economical segmentation strategy can lead the city to develop a system that increases benefits of the rail transport service for its residents and helps to reach its goal of sustaining existing users and appealing to new passengers.

Public bus transport service operators play a significant role in delivering residents’ mass transit services in cities. Thus, measuring their service performance is very important to know their strengths and weaknesses; meet residents’ rapidly growing mobility needs, and provide quality services. This study aims to assess the service quality of public buses in Addis Ababa, emphasizing on Importance-Performance Analysis model. A questionnaire consisting of thirty-one service quality attributes was used using a seven-point Likert scale. A face-to-face survey was conducted with 500 conveniently selected respondents to grasp passengers’ expectations and perceptions of public buses’ service quality in the city. Hence, based on Importance Performance Analysis, Customer Satisfaction Index, and level of Conformity analysis, 58.1% of the attributes are found under concentrate here and low priority quadrant. Therefore, the study suggests transit service operators and concerned stakeholders should provide urgent attention and allocate their resources to these attributes to improve the quality of service and enhance customer satisfaction with delivered services.

The exacerbated mobility challenges in many developing cities poses great challenges to planners and policy makers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the vulnerability, exposure of public transit users to travel difficulties and their coping strategies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Vulnerability can be defined as exposure to harm and increased risk. Public transit users are generally more vulnerable to physical attack than private car users. The study used primary data which were collected through a survey distributed to 457 respondents. Convenience sampling technique was used to reach respondents. The study used proportions, percentages and cross-tabulation of key variables and binary logistic regression to analyze vulnerability and coping strategies of transit users. The result revealed that coping strategy use is higher among long distance travelers, middle income groups (regular commuters) and females than other groups. Hence, the research emphasis the need to improve the current state of public transit service provision in the city.

Due to its low fares, public bus transportation as a means of urban road mobility is a popular choice, particularly among city inhabitants. However, owing to its high level of crowdedness, it poses a greater risk of security and safety, particularly during peak hours. Moreover, passengers have continued to voice their dissatisfaction about the services offered, as well as the criminality that occurs in the station and on the bus. The problem is exacerbated in developing countries due to increased travel demand and a lack of appropriate and integrated solutions. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to evaluate commuters' perceptions of their concerns about using public bus transportation in the city, with an emphasis on security and safety in bus operations. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from 500 users in the city for the study. Using the SPSS software, the data was analyzed. To find out what they think, a descriptive analysis was used. Overcrowding of buses, personal insecurity, and infrequent bus service are the three biggest concerns in using public bus transportation in the city, according to the results. Furthermore, most of the respondents were concerned about crime; specifically, pickpockets, inappropriate touching, and disrespectful language of drivers and conductors are the three top types of crime that concern passengers who use public bus transportation in the city. Additionally, most people felt more insecure while riding the bus and getting on/off the bus, particularly in the evening and between 9:00 and 12:00 p.m. local time. Thus, it is advised that the Addis Ababa City Transport Authority, the Public Bus Transport Enterprise, and other interested parties place a strong emphasis on security and safety when providing public transportation in the city. Furthermore, it is critical to perform regular victim surveys of passengers (as well as operators) to establish whether they have been criminally victimized on the bus system and by what type of crime. Equally important, regularly assess the likely usefulness of new crime prevention measures for reducing bus-related offenses and prepare an annual bus crime reduction strategy.

Abstract:Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) was opened to the public in 2015 with the goal of addressing the rapidly increasing transportation demand in the city. The system, in a short period of time, proved itself to be a long-awaited development, but at the same time there are some challenges the service yet to overcome. One of the challenges is providing a service that satisfies its riders. Using factor analysis, this research identifies AALRT service quality variables that have relative importance to affect users' satisfaction. The study also estimates the relationship between satisfaction towards important service quality variables and socio-demographic and economic characteristics of users through ordered logit model. The data used for the analysis was obtained from a self-reported users' satisfaction survey. The factor analysis results show that the functional or operational variables such as travel and waiting times as well as speed and the price of travel are the most important variables that determine the satisfaction of AALRT users. Similar to that, the ordered logit model indicated dissatisfaction of respondents with the functional/operational variables, which necessitates policy and strategic interventions to improve the operational performance of the AALRT. Also important to the respondents are variables related to cleanliness, the availability and the quality of shelters and seating places at stations.

Measuring the public transit service enterprise's performance is a powerful tool for decision-making and managerial control to assess the utilization level of various inputs to obtain the desired outputs. Thus, this study aims to measure the performance of public bus transport enterprises of Addis Ababa using the Data Envelopment Analysis method during the year 2016/17 to 2017/18. There is an absence of studies in the country examining public transport sector efficiency using the DEA approach, which makes this research a chance. The study employed an input-oriented DEA model to measure bus transit efficiency. Thus, fleet size and a total number of employees are used as inputs, while covered vehicle km and total passengers transported per year are used as an output to measure performance. Then, the enterprises' technical efficiency and operational effectiveness are analyzed based on secondary data collected from each enterprise. The overall results show Anbessa and Sheger city buses are technically efficient and operationally effective in utilizing their inputs to deliver the desired output compared to others in the city. However, outcomes for Alliance city bus and Public Service Employees Transport Service Enterprise indicate that they utilize their inputs inefficiently and consumed their services ineffectively. Hence, these inefficient enterprises need significant improvements in using their resources to enhance their performance and deliver services incompetent with other operators in the city. Besides, the Government should encourage privately owned public transport operators in the city and provide subsidies and other incentives to all based on their existing performance. Keywords : efficiency, public transport, Data Envelopment Analysis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/11-7-05 Publication date: August 31 st 2021