DETERMINANTS OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN THE HARARE METROPOLITAN REGION

Abstract

During the peak rush hour, motorists and residents spend considerable time trying to weave their way through between their work places and homes. This article is based on a study that examined determinants of traffic congestion in the Harare Metropolitan Province. The researchers adopted a mixed method approach and a cross-sectional survey design. The study population was comprised of urban planning and zoning officials, transport planners, residents, motorists and other stakeholders in the Zimbabwean transport sector. Stratified sampling and purposive sampling technique were used to select respondents. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were translated from English to Shona to cater for monolingual respondents. The researchers read out and explained the questions to the respondents where necessary. The questionnaires used were closed ended with five-point Likert scale. Respondents were given the chance to tick or rank the most appropriate response(s). The data gathered was presented in descriptive statistics using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. Descriptive data was analysed using, mean and standard deviation. The study concluded that poor land-use planning, increase in vehicle ownership, uncivil driving behaviour; inadequate road capacity and poor traffic control were the key determinants of traffic congestion in Harare Metropolitan Region. The study recommended the integration land-use between transportation plans can play a crucial role in alleviating traffic congestion. Furthermore, the police and other traffic law enforcement agencies such as the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe National Roads Authority among others should encourage the enforcement of traffic laws and offer public enlightenment or traffic education to road users. These programmes should be designed not merely as means to raise revenue but to create awareness.