Determinants of public transport passengers’ choice of seating positions in Ghana

Abstract

Public bus/minibus safety concerns predispose passengers to make safety evaluations and engage in behavioural adaptations (i.e. behaviour change to compensate for changes in perceived risk) to the perceived unsafety. This cross-sectional study sought to explore Public Transport (PT) users’ choice of seating positions in Ghana, a form of behavioural adaptation to PT unsafety. Data for the study came from 660 public bus/minibus users (through questionnaire administration) in three towns (Wa, Kumasi, and Mankessim) in Ghana. We established the association between the dependent (preferred seating position) and independent variables (socio-demographic characteristics, trip duration and perceived safe seats) via cross-tabulations and Pearson Chi-Square. We tested the strength of the association (effect size) among the variables using the Cramer’s V. We found that the seats behind the driver, in the middle and in front were both the perceived safe seats and the preferred seating positions on a public bus/minibus in Ghana. Justifications for these were mainly informed by safety and comfort. Notably, we observed that occupational status, trip duration and perceived safe seats determine the preferred seating position on a public bus/minibus. Our study findings provide further perspectives on passengers’ seating position decisions which are expected to inform future research and policy directions