Determinants of walking as an active travel mode in a Nigerian city

- The majority of travellers in Ilesa walk, but not for its health benefit.
- The most influencing factor influencing walking is its relative cheapness.
- Barriers to walking include vehicle ownership, slowness, and absence of facilities.
- The strongest predictor of walking is the non-possession of personal vehicles.

This study examined factors that influenced the choice of walking as an active travel mode in Ilesa, a major city in Osun State, Nigeria. By using a multistage sampling technique, 524 respondents were surveyed across the three main residential zones of the city: the high-density, the medium-density and the low-density zones. Among others, socioeconomic characteristics of residents such as age and income varied across the residential zones (F = 54.731, p < 0.001; F = 68.278, p < 0.001). It was found that the factors that greatly influence respondents' decision to walk include its relative cheapness, the non-possession of personal vehicles by the traveller and favourable weather. However, vehicle ownership, the relative slowness of the mode and the absence of pedestrian facilities constituted the most significant barriers to walking as an active travel mode in the city. The study also found that the strongest predictor of walking among residents was the non-possession of personal vehicles (R2 = .551). Other predictors were income, trip length, travel costs and health benefits, with a cumulative R2 value of 0.168. The transportation planning implications of the findings are discussed, and policy recommendations are proffered towards engendering a walkable environment, which would in turn encourage active travelling in the city.