Does urban form influence automobile trip frequency in Accra, Ghana?

Abstract

Sustainable mobility is gaining increasing attention as it is seen as an approach to effectively reduce automobile travel and simultaneously encourage other modes of travel. To this end, it is imperative that scholars provide planners and policymakers with adequate empirical evidence to enable them to make informed decisions. In this sense, this study attempts to understand how socio-demographics, urban form (town center proximity-walk accessibility and other locational characteristics), perception and satisfaction pertaining to public transport influence automobile trip frequency. It particularly employs a partial least square structural equation modelling approach with the aim of appreciating the complexities in the land use-travel behavior interaction with the aid of data from the 2012 National Household Travel Survey of Ghana. The paper finds that the main explanatory factors identified in the land use-transportation-travel behavior literature are deemed significant in the case of Accra with socio-demographics yielding the largest magnitude. Also, public transport satisfaction turns out to have a negative influence on automobile trips.