Investigating factors affecting Paratransit Travel Times: Perspectives from two Paratransit Routes in Kumasi, Ghana

¹ Regional Transport Research and Education Centre, Kumasi (TRECK), Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
² Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
³ Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Building and Road Research Institute, U. P. O. Box 40. Kumasi, Ghana.

^* Corresponding author: georgeukam@gmail.com

Abstract

Paratransit trips on minibus vehicles have reportedly been unreliable, and users are unsatisfied with the quality of service they receive. Providing travel-related information, such as travel time information and introducing interventions along the roadway, may improve service quality and user experiences. To do this, there is a need to understand the nature of paratransit travel time and the factors affecting it. The study investigated factors affecting travel times of paratransit at the route and segment levels on two selected routes in Kumasi. A travel time survey onboard the vehicle was used to collect GPS, stop related and other information with the help of a mobile application. The Backward Stepwise Regression technique was used to determine the most significant factors which were drawn from literature and a careful study of paratransit operations. The results indicated that dwell times rather than stops contributed to paratransit travel times. Deviation from the route was found to increase travel time, contrary to the logic of using deviation to bypass apparent traffic congestion ahead. The study proffered interventions that can help improve travel time and the quality of service and made policy suggestions.