Collection of passenger travel data in Sub-Saharan African cities: Towards improving survey instruments and procedures

Abstract

International audienceThis paper compares experiences in the application of different approaches to passenger travel data collection in francophone and anglophone cities of West, Central and Southern Africa. Its aim is to identify possible improvements through which common problems might be addressed. The paper draws from the available French and English literature on survey methods applied in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as from the authors' experiences in designing and administering surveys in this context. Problems are discussed in terms of survey design and administration. Recommendations to address these problems relate to survey preparation, comparative instrument and cognitive testing, hierarchical multi-modal methods, interviewer selection and training methods, and survey administration and monitoring

The puzzle of mobility and access to the city in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…administered by local survey staff. The field work was organized in a similar way in the different cities, but the specific features and constraints of each context were nevertheless taken into account (Behrens et al, 2006). The core of the questionnaires was very similar in all cases and included:…”

A bibliography of applications of operational research in West Africa

“…5.8. Transport (Altiok, 2000), (Behrens et al, 2006). Agriculture and food (Abdulai and Huffman, 2000), (Agidi, 1979), (Babu et al, 2000), (Baltussen et al, 2006), (Dansoa et al, 2006), (Langyintuo et al, 2005), (Webber, 2006), (Wiggins et al, 2004), (Yiridoe et al, 2006).…”

Characteristics of household activity and travel patterns in the Mumbai metropolitan region

“…The development of diary instruments in household travel surveys is well documented in various studies (cf. Axhausen 1995;Stecher et al 1996;Stopher 1992Stopher , 1996Stopher , 2007Hawkins and Stopher 2004). An option of dynamic activity-travel diary data collection using global positioning systems (GPS) with a GPS-enabled personal digital assistant has been explored by Kochan (2004).…”

“…Behrens and Masaoe (2009) studied the impact of alternative travel diary forms on respondent burden, trip rates and non-response errors and concluded that place-based diaries in sequential question format yield highest trip rate data. Various authors have discussed operational issues in survey design and methods of administration in the context of developing countries (Behrens et al 2006;Bindhu et al 2006;Coppens et al 2001;Pandey 1999). However, and although some studies have been reported in developing countries, a fully equipped appropriate survey instrument and its administration has not been reported in the literature to date.…”