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Travel patterns and challenges of physically disabled persons in Nigeria

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Abstract

The physically disabled persons represent a special group of the transportation disadvantaged who have suffered many deprivations. The study explores the travel patterns and some of the challenges being encountered by the physically disabled in Jos, Nigeria. Using the questionnaire and focus group discussion methods, the study found that the respondents are of low social and economic statuses. Walking, with enormous time and energy costs, is the most common means of travel among the group. Commercial vehicle drivers apparently hardly attend to the transportation needs of the group even when they can afford the fare. The physically disabled persons view this “injustice” as a reflection of a whole gamut of perceived discriminatory policies of the “able” society to isolate and disempower them. There is therefore a deep-seated feeling of resentment among the physically disabled towards society’s perceived apathy, marginalization and discrimination that manifest even in access to transportation. They believe that the social and physical environments are deliberately hostile to them. Any plans to alleviate the transportation problems of the disabled and integrate them into the mainstream of the economic and social activities of the larger society should address, fundamentally, these perceived marginalization and injustices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jos, Jos, Plateau, Nigeria

    Leonard Sitji Bombom

  2. Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba, Nigeria

    Ibrahim Abdullahi

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  1. Leonard Sitji Bombom
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  2. Ibrahim Abdullahi
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Correspondence to Leonard Sitji Bombom.

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Bombom, L.S., Abdullahi, I. Travel patterns and challenges of physically disabled persons in Nigeria. GeoJournal 81, 519–533 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9629-3

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