IOSR Journal of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS)

Volume 25, Issue 7, Series 1 (July. 2020) 49-60

e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.
www.iosrjournals.org

Vehicular Traffic Congestion in Selected Satellite Towns in the

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria
ALPHONSUS NWACHUKWU ALI
And GRACE CHIDERA, NGENE,
Department Of Geography, University Of Nigeria Nsukka

ABSTRACT
Purpose This paper investigated the level and causes of traffic congestion in FCT Abuja, as it affects
commuters from satellite towns as they commute daily to the city centre. This is because previous studies did
not consider traffic congestion situation in the satellite towns of the city.:
Design/Methodology/Approach: To achieve this aim, six traffic congested roads linking satellite towns and
AMAC were sampled for this study.. The primary data for this work were obtained through administration of
655 copies of questionnaire to respondents across the study area. Data on vehicular traffic counts along the 6
sampled roads linking satellite towns and AMAC for 7days, were collected from FRSC Abuja Command.
Descriptive statistics and graph theoretic indices were used to analyze the level, causes of traffic congestion and
road network connectivity.
Findings: The study revealed the level of vehicular traffic congestion which varied from 5.3% above the
designated road capacity in Kugbo to 96.1% in Nyanya. The major causes of traffic congestion were found to be
the size of available road capacity, dismal condition of roads, market activity along the side of roads, poor road
network connectivity and roadside parking of vehicles
Practical Implications: The results may be used to develop strategic transport land use planning, aimed at
improving road connectivity and capacity to reducing vehicular traffic congestion inherent in satellite towns, as
well as enhancing road transport efficiency between city centre and its adjoining peripheral highly populated
satellite towns.
Originality/Value: Vehicular traffic congestion is an alarming problem in satellite towns in emerging big
cities. This study makes contribution to planning and policy making of transport land use in satellite towns in
relation to city centres to improve traffic flows between them.
Keywords: Abuja, Vehicular, Traffic, Congestion, Satellite, Towns, Causes
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Date of Submission: 17-06-2020 Date of Acceptance: 03-07-2020
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I. INTRODUCTION
The agglomeration of the economic prospective and inhabitants in the city areas leads to the occurrence
of very large transport needs in a spatially limited area, and when these
needs are met at the same time, the congestion occurs. This applies to congestion in respect
of both the road network and the vehicles. Congestion is a situation in which demand for road space exceeds
supply (OECD and ECMT, Joint Transport Research Centre
(2007). Vehicular traffic congestion occurs when urban road networks are no longer capable of accommodating
the volume of vehicular traffic that use them thus leading to delays in journey time (Knowles, 1993).There are
two types of such delays; fixed delay and operational delay. Fixed delays occur mainly at road intersections and
such are usually unavoidable (Ogunsanya, 1985). Operational delays are those caused by vehicle’s
inefficiencies, parking problems, accidents and maneuvering of vehicles on the road. Vehicular traffic
congestions are characteristic features of most urban centres of Nigeria including Abuja. Rodrique et al, (2009)
states that congestion can be perceived as unavoidable consequences of scarce transport facilities such as road
space, parking area, road signals and effective traffic management. They argue that urban congestion mainly
concerns two domains of circulation, passengers and freight which share the same infrastructure. Thus, traffic
congestion condition on road networks occurs as a result of excessive use of road infrastructure beyond
capacity, and it is characterised by slower speeds, longer trip hours and increased vehicular queuing. Significant
disproportions between the transport needs and the possibilities of their meeting at the desired level of quality
can be seen also in satellite towns in Abuja.

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 Vehicular Traffic Congestion In Selected Satellite Towns In The Federal Capital Territory..

Abuja today has become a big sprawling city with population significantly exceeding projected
forecast. The bulk of this large human population residing mainly in the satellite towns commute daily to Abuja
city thereby worsening transportation challenges in the city (Ughojor, 2016). Over the years, FCT had witnessed
rising transport demand and road traffic which have led to increasing congestion and delays (go-slow)
occasioned by greater access to cars (as purchasing power of the middle-income classes has risen), access to
credit, population growth and large supply of used cars; as well as poor quality of driving especially by those
who drive commercial vehicles or transit vehicles. Traffic congestion in FCT affects both car and public
transport users and produces losses in terms of economic efficiency and other negative social effects like road
accidents.
The creation of the FCT as Nigeria’s capital was as a result of the former capital Lagos being over
populated, congested and has little land area left for further development. The FCT was also chosen because of
its central location and its available land area. Over the years the FCT now experiences traffic congestion in
certain locations due to various factors.
The need for this study was to assess vehicular road traffic congestion in selected points in FCT Abuja.
It was driven by the congestion problems experienced in most satellite towns within the FCT. For instance,
Traffic congestion in Abuja is now so heightened that most times it takes an upward of two hours instead 10—
15minutes before to move from the City Centre to densely populated satellite towns like Kubwa, Apo and
Nyanya, especially during rush hours like in the mornings when residents are going to work, and at close of
work(Kwen, 2020). According to Ughojor (2016) Abuja municipal area council which is the seat of power has
a well-developed and maintained road network as compared to other area councils such as Bwari, Gwagwalada,
Kuje, Kwali and Abaji. These area councils comprise of satellite towns in which majority of workers in the FCT
resides in because of the affordable housing in these locations. Majority of FCT workers cannot afford the very
expensive accommodation in the city center. As a result, about 70% of FCT workers reside in satellite towns
within the FCT such as Kubwa, Dutse, Bwari, Nyanya and towns in neighboring states such as Mararaba,
Masaka, Suleja and Madala both in Nasarawa and Niger states. The workers commute daily from these satellite
towns to the city centre for work, schooling and business. The network of roads connecting the satellite towns
with Abuja city centre cannot accommodate the increasing number of road users leading to amassive vehicular
traffic congestion along these routes as they commute daily to the city center for work, studies or businesses.
The major problem along these routes is the vehicular road traffic congestion which seems to hinder
people from getting to their work places on time and making accessibility of some areas difficult especially
moving from satellite towns to the city center and back, and also makes transportation generally difficult. This
should not be so and as a result, these problems should not be overlooked especially as the FCT is Nigeria’s
capital city. The city requires easy flow of traffic and accessibility of the entire Federal Capital Territory not just
the city center but also the satellite towns around it. This is in line with SDG GOAL 11.2 ―To make cities and
human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030, by providing access to safe, affordable,
accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public
transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with
disabilities and older persons‖( United Nations, 2015: 18).With present vehicular traffic congestion being
experienced by commuters from satellite towns on daily basis, people will find it difficult to get to their work
places on time. Emergency transportation would be difficult and access to certain areas within the satellite towns
may be extremely difficult or impossible. This should not be so for urban centre like Abuja which is supposed to
have a good road network to enhance accessibility of the area, promote easy flow of traffic and reduce time
spent on transportation, in a bid to meet the transportation demands of the urban population. The unanswered
question is; how can we accommodate the growing movement of people and goods without causing serious and
undesirable congestion on the road network systems linking satellite towns and Abuja Municipal Area Council
(AMAC). This of course is what this study seeks to answer. Thus, this study aims at examining the problems of
vehicular road traffic congestion along the roads within the Federal Capital Territory that link satellite towns
and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and ways to ameliorate the poor situation. To achieve the above
aim, the specific objectives were to: (1) assess road network connectivity and the major modes of transport used
in the study area; (2) examine the patterns of vehicular traffic flows the roads and (3) identify causes of
vehicular traffic congestion along the roads linking satellite towns with AMAC.

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area
The FCT is located in the geographical heart land of the country between latitude 8 0 25’ North of the
equator and longitude 60 45’ and 70 45’ East of Greenwich meridian as shown in Figure 1. It is bordered to the
South-East by Nasarawa State, to the North-east by Kaduna state and to the West by Niger state. The population
of the FCT has been increasing rapidly over the years since 1987 when population was 125,000 which increased
to 378,671 in 1991 and 1,405,201 in 2006. The Federal Capital Territory covers an area of 8,000 square

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 Vehicular Traffic Congestion In Selected Satellite Towns In The Federal Capital Territory..

kilometers. It is more than twice the extent of Lagos state which is (3,535 km2), Imo state (5,430 km2) and Abia
state (6,420 km2) lying close to the Centre of the country the territory is situated wholly within the region
generally known as the ―middle belt‖ (Dawan, 2000).

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sampled Vehicular Traffic Congestion Points in the FCT Abuja
There are traffic congestion points along many roads in the area councils within the FCT Abuja experiencing
various degrees of traffic congestion on different axis and on major junctions along the expressways that link
satellite towns. In the case of this study, six (6) traffic congestion points/roads were sampled from three (3)
major expressways that cut across three area councils within the FCT Abuja.

Fig. 1: Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Showing the Six (6) Area Councils

These area councils were chosen because of their high populations and mixed land uses as compared to the other
area councils. Two sample points/roads linking satellite towns with each of the three major expressways were
chosen and studied given a total of six sampled points/roads (See Table 1).

Table 1: Sampled Traffic Congestion Points/roads in FCT Abuja

Expressway Route Surveyed Sampled Northings Eastings
Roads/Points
Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja Expressway Giri/road 090 00.45N 0070 09.27E
Zuba/road 090 05.43N 0070 13.27E
Abuja-Kubwa-Kaduna Expressway Kubwa first gate/road 090 08.42N 0070 18.85E
Kubwa second gate/road 090 08.50N 0070 19.39E
Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi Expressway Nyanya/road 090.01.35N 0070 34.22E
Kugbo/road 090 01.67N 0070 34.99E
Source: Fieldwork 2019

IV. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Primary and secondary sources of data were used to collect relevant data needed to achieve our aim and
desired objectives. The primary data were obtained through field observations, structural interviews,
administration of copies of questionnaire and photograph. Structures questionnaire was used to extract
information from drivers, commuters and residents of areas about causes of vehicular traffic congestion on the
sampled roads.and supplemented with the use of interview method. Respondents were stratified and randomly
surveyed as presented in Table 2:
Secondary data were collected from FCTA, FRSC, published and unpublished materials. Vehicular
traffic counts data for 7days (Sunday to Saturday) were collected from FRSC Abuja command. Vehicular
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Traffic count was conducted on the 6 sampled roads linking satellite towns and AMAC for 7days-- Sunday to
Saturday from 7am to 7pm at these congestion points along the roads linking the following satellite towns
−Nyanya, Kugbo, Kubwa 1st gate, Kubwa 2nd gate, Zuba and Giri. Measurements were also carried out to
obtain the physical width of the sampled roads used in this study.

Table 2: Distribution of the Sampled Target Population

Expressway Congested No. of respondents surveyed along the roads linking the satellite towns
point on the and the Expressway
road linking
the satellite
towns and
Expressway
Private Commercia assengers Residents Total
drivers l drivers Respondents
interviewed
Abuja – Giri 28 30 27 28 113
Gwagwala-lokoja
Dual carriage
expressway Zuba 25 25 25 26 101

Abuja- Kubwa 1st 27 26 26 25 104

Kuwa−Kaduna Gate
Dual carriage
expressway Kubwa 2nd 24 27 25 26 102
Gate
Nyanya- keffi Nyanya 30 31 31 23 115
Dual carriage
expressway Kugbo 29 30 31 30 120

Data Analysis
Graph theoretic indices were used to analyze the level of connectivity of road network in the study area using
these graph theoretic indices:
Cyclomatic Number (µ) = 𝑒 − 𝑣 + 𝑝……………………………Equ. 1
Beta index: Therefore ( β) = e/v ……………………………..…...Equ. 2
where ―e‖ is the number of edges or links; ―v‖ is the number of vertices or nodes and ―p‖ is the number of sub-
graphs. Cyclomatic number is the measure of the number of circuits in the transportation or the number of links
in the system excess to the number required to tie the vertices together in a minimal way. The beta index
expresses the number of edges present in a network in relation to the number of vertices to be connected. It
therefore indicates the number of links leading in and out of each node. The higher the value of the beta index
the greater the connectivity of the network. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were also employed in
the analysis of data collected from the conduct of interviews and field measurements. Regression analysis and
ANOVA were used to determine the contribution of the factors responsible for the observed level of congestion
in the study area.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Road Network in the FCT
The FCT Abuja has three major expressways which link it to the northern, southern, eastern and
western parts of Nigeria. The Abuja-Kubwa-Kaduna expressway also known as Murtala Mohammed
expressway is a four lane road and covers a stretch of 39km. It links the FCT to Niger, Kaduna and Kano states.
Secondly, is the Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja Expressway which is a dual carriage way and it links the FCT to
the southern part of Nigeria such as Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest it links these places through Lokoja in
Kogi state. Thirdly, is the Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi expressway. This is also a dual carriage way and it links the FCT
to Nasarawa and Benue states and also to Eastern Nigeria through Enugu state, and to Northern Nigeria through
Plateau state. Apart from these major expressways there are also roads linking one area council to the other and
some minor roads within the area councils. The increasing population of the FCT has continued to put pressure
on the existing roads within the territory and this has given rise to traffic congestion as a major transportation
problem. Figure 2 shows map of the FCT showing the road network and our sampled traffic congestion points.

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 Vehicular Traffic Congestion In Selected Satellite Towns In The Federal Capital Territory..

Fig 2: Map of the FCT Showing the Road Network and Sampled Traffic Congestion Points

Road Network Analysis

The road network consists of systems of interconnected paved carriages which are designed to carry buses, cars
and goods vehicle; the road network generally forms the most basic level of transport infrastructure within urban
areas, and link with all other areas, both within and beyond the boundaries of the urban area (SECURIPEDIA,
2013).

Fig. shows a topological map of the FCT road network from which the connectivity indices was derived and
used for our road network analysis using Graph theoretic indices.

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 Vehicular Traffic Congestion In Selected Satellite Towns In The Federal Capital Territory..

Table 1: The values of graph theoretical indices of road connectivity in the study area
Names and symbols of indices Values of indices
Cyclomatic number( µ) 18
Beta index( β) 1.57

Source: Fieldwork 2020

The cyclomatic number of the road network in the FCT is 18(i.e. eighteen fundamental circuits linking
some major centres in the FCT)(See Table 1) and since the number is considerably lower than the maximum
number of circuits (i.e. 2v-5) possible which is 55 it means that the connectivity of roads in the FCT is very low.
The beta index is relatively low with an index of 1.57 showing that the number of links leading in and out of
FCT is relatively low.

1. Major modes of Transportation in the FGT

Figure 4 shows the preferred means of transport in FCT Abuja, keke -NAPEP accounted for 8%, private car
16%, taxi 17% bike 19%, public bus 40%. It is deduced from our analysis that public bus which accounted for
40% is the most preferred mode of transportation in FCT Abuja as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig 4: Major Means of Transportation in satellite towns of the FCT Abuja

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2. The Levels of Vehicular Traffic Congestion Points on The Sampled Roads in the FCT Abuja
2.1. Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja Expressway
The Abuja-Gwagwalada-Lokoja Expressway is a major road in the FCT. This expressway also stretches through
the Gwagwalada area council. Sampled points along this expressway are Zuba and Giri axis See Table 3). A
daily vehicular traffic count on Giri road recorded 4941(7am-7pm) while the design capacity is 4000 daily
vehicular traffic movements. This means that the actual vehicular traffic movement is 23.5% above the designed
capacity (See column 7 of Table 3). On Zuba road, the daily actual vehicular traffic count was found to be
46.2% over the designed capacity.

Table 3: Congested Points/Areas of the Sampled Roads Linking Satellite Towns in the city of Abuja
Congested Type of No. of No. of Vehicles The difference The
Expressw Points/Area Road Vehicles based on designed between the percentage
ay s Counted capacity per day actual No. of increase of
per day (specialists consult Vehicles counted het actual
from 7am- Department of per day and the vehicles
7pm Transport FCTA projected No. of counted
vehicles per day over
based on expected
designed designed
capacity capacity (%)
Abuja- Giri A single 4941 4000 941 23.5
Gwagwala Road carriageway
da-Lokoja Zuba Road A single 5849 4000 1849 46.2
Expresswa carriageway
y
Abuja- Kubwa A single 6241 4000 2241 56.0
Kuwa−Ka First Gate carriageway
duna Dual Road
carriage Kubwa A single 7112 4000 3112 77.8
expresswa Second carriageway
y Gate Road

Nyanya- Nyanya A single 7843 4000 3843 96.1

keffi Dual Road carriageway
carriage
expresswa
y
Kugbo A single 4211 4000 211 5.3
Road carriageway
Source:Fieldwork2020

2.2. Abuja-Kubwa-Kaduna Expressway

The Abuja-Kubwa-Kaduna expressway also known as Murtala Mohammed expressway, covers a stretch of
about 39km. Vehicular traffic congestion problems are experienced on the feeder roads linking satellite towns
to this expressway. Traffic congestion points on feeder roads along this route includes; Dei-dei junction, Arab
road junction, Kubwa first gate, Kubwa second gate, Federal housing junction and Dutse junction, but Kubwa
first gate and Kubwa second gate axis were samples chosen for this study(See Table 3). The actual vehicular
traffic counts are 56.0% and 77.8% percents over the designed capacities of the roads respectively. Cars are
constantly trapped in vehicular congestion traffic at Kubwa second gate axis along Abuja-Kubwa-Kaduna
expressway can be seen in Plate 1.

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Plate 1: Cars Trapped in Traffic in Kubwa Second Gate Axis along Abuja-Kubwa-Expressway

2.3. Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi Expressway

The Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi expressway is another major route in the FCT, linking it to Nasarawa state.
This route is found along Abuja municipal area council (AMAC) and some parts of Nasarawa state. The satellite
towns found on this route as well as traffic congestion points includes; Nyanya, Kugbo, Jikwoyi, Kurudu and
Karu, Mararaba, new Nyanya and Masaka in the outskirts of Abuja. Nyanya and Kugbo are the samples chosen
for this study. Nyanya road is highly congested with 96.1% above designed capacity of 400 vehicles per day.
Kugbo road is least congested with 5.3% above the designed capacity(See Table 3).

3. Pattern of Traffic Flow along Sampled Roads/Points in FCT Abuja

The traffic flow pattern in the FCT is not different from the flow pattern of other areas within the
country that experiences traffic congestion. Traffic flow along traffic congestion points in the FCT are heaviest
in the mornings and evenings. In the morning most trips occur between 7am to 11am and in the evenings its
between 4pm and 7pm. At these hours the roads and its infrastructures are highly congested. During the
afternoon there is a free flow of traffic along these routes because of the decreased number of road users.
The volume of traffic is usually very high for the weekdays especially from Mondays to Wednesdays,
this is because a large percentage of road users in the FCT are civil servants or work in private firms, most of
them do not exempt themselves from work especially on Mondays through Wednesday. On Thursday the traffic
is still high but not as the traffic experienced on Mondays. But the volume of traffic gradually reduces as we
approach the weekend, this is because most civil servants and those who work in private firms do not usually go
to work during the weekends which starts from Friday. Also on Saturdays and Sundays, the volume of traffic
also reduces because fewer trips are generated and made on weekends which are basically visitation to relatives
and places of interest. .

3.1. Nature and Pattern of A.M (Morning) Peak Flow

The nature and pattern of A.M peak flow shows a period in the day, where the volume of traffic builds
up as early as 7am it gets to a point where the accessibility of these routes is greatly reduced, it shows a high
density of vehicular traffic on the road with very low speed. Vehicular movement during the A.M. peak period
is quite difficult even for a commuter/driver to reverse. In most of our sampled points the A.M peak usually
occurs at 7am-10am but in some points such as the Kubwa second gate it extends to about 11am. The
atmosphere is also very dense and is polluted by exhaust fumes from vehicles caught on the road at the A.M
peak, there are deafening noises from cars, motor cycles and big vehicles. The resultant effect is the worsening
traffic congestion being experienced at this period. The inability of the road network along these points to
accommodate the large population of commuters from the satellite towns which harbors the largest population to
move within the FCT without losing productive man hours, coming from these satellite towns in the morning.
The pattern of daily A.M peak on our sampled points for 7 days’ traffic count is shown in the Fig.4.

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3.2. Nature and Pattern of P.M (Evening) Peak Flow

The nature and pattern of the P.M (evening) peak period is not very different from the A.M peak. The
road at this period is highly congested with tired looking commuters. Usually, the traffic on these points is
congested with different modes of transport, which comprises of motorcycles, private cars, taxis, tricycles,
minibuses and high capacity buses. It is at this P.M peak period that pedestrians operate most because the roads
are so congested that even motorcycles struggle their way out of the traffic. So most commuters prefer to walk
the distance until they are out of the congestion. This P.M peak starts

Fig 4: Column Chart Showing Percentage of Daily A.M Peak on Sampled Satellite Town Traffic
Congestion Points in FCT Abuja

20
18
16
Kubwa 1st
14 gate
Kubwa 2nd
Percentage

12 gate
10 Zuba

8 Giri
6
4
2
0
Days
Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

building up by 4pm to about 7pm and sometimes 8pm we observed from our field work that the P.M peak is
densest as compared to the A.M peak. The pattern of daily P.M peak on our sampled points for 7 days’ traffic
count is shown in the Fig 5.

Fig. 5: Column Chart Showing Percentage of Daily P.M Peak on Sampled Satellite Town Traffic
Congestion Points in FCT Abuja

20
18
16
Kubwa 1st
14 gate
Percentage

12 Kubwa 2nd
10 gate
8 Zuba

6
4
2
0
Days
Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

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4. Causes of Vehicular Traffic Congestion on Roads Linking Satellite Towns Abuja Municipal Area
Council (AMAC)
The Identified factors responsible for vehicular traffic congestion at various points along the roads
linking satellite towns with Abuja city centre are presented on Table 4. They are the size of the road capacity,
dismal road conditions, market activities at the roadsides, poor road network connectivity, roadside parking of
vehicles, inadequate modes of public transport, military checkpoints, mixed land use and increasing number of
road. Generally Afrom the Table 4 above, size of the road capacity is the highest contributor to vehicle traffic
congestion along satellite roads in Abuja with 17.1% contribution. This is because the demand for road space is
now higher than the available satellite town road spaces thereby resulting to vehicular traffic congestion.
Roadside parking of vehicles is the second major contributor and contributes 14.4% to the causes of vehicular
traffic congestion leading to reduction in vehicular speed thereby causing vehicular bunching. Dismal conditions
of roads linking satellite towns and Abuja city centre contributes 14.4% causes of vehicular traffic congestion on
the roads. For instance, in Zuba bad condition of road affects general transport activities (Isa et al., 2015).
Roadside market activity contributes 12.04% to the causes of vehicular traffic congestion in the study area. This
is because traders occupy available roadside spaces thereby reducing road spaces where vehicles are supposed to
park or even pass. Poor road connectivity, contributes 11.90% to the observed traffic congestion, while military
checkpoints due to rate of insecurity in Nigeria, increasing road users, inadequate mode of public transport and
mixed land use contribute 10.84%, 8.58%, 6.33% and 5.57% respectively to the causes of vehicular traffic
congestion in the study area.

Table 4: Causes of Traffic Congestion along major road linking satellite towns in Abuja

VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA, has done massive rehabilitation of roads within
the FCT, especially in the city centre and the major expressways, traffic congestion still persists especially in the
satellite towns. Concisely, this research work has made various attempts to examine the problem of vehicular
road traffic congestion in the FCT especially as regards the trip generation from satellite towns to the city centre.
It identified the various major modes of transportation used in the FCT. It has also identified the levels of traffic
congestions as well as the causes of traffic congestion on the FCT roads linking satellite towns. These
consequences of traffic congestion are probably one of the most urgent problems facing the study area. On the
basis of the findings, these recommendations were made to address the problems and causes of vehicular traffic
congestions on the roads linking satellite towns with Abuja city centre as follows:
1. The predominance of road as the only means of transportation within the territory is not ideal for
Nigeria’s capital as the increasing population all rely on the available road network to convey them to places of
interest. The Abuja light rail operating only between Ibu rail station and international airport rail station should
be expanded to link satellite towns of Kuje, Gini, Nyanya, Kugbo, Zuba amomg others. The use of rail transport
will help in reducing the pressure on road transport as commuters will instead of using their private cars or
public bus will prefer using trains if it is faster and affordable.
2. There should be a decentralization of government ministries, agencies and parastatals, which are all
concentrated in the City Centre. As the federal capital territory, government agencies should be spread across
the six (6) area councils, this will help in decongesting the City Centre, as on a daily basis thousands of
commuters are all headed to a single point which is in the City Centre and in the evening they return from that

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single point to their destinations. These lead to the AM and PM traffic congestion peaks being experienced in
the satellite towns.
3. The presence of a number of military checkpoints especially in Nyanya and Kugbo axis, is a major
cause of traffic congestion in the FCT, these roads are blocked with drums and bags of sand, and a stop and
search is done to every vehicle plying these routes, these road blockages should be removed to allow a free flow
of traffic along these routes. The security agencies should install other security measures such as the installation
of bomb detectors instead of blocking the roads and creating unnecessary bottlenecks.
4. The management of Abuja urban mass transit limited, who are the managers of the high capacity
buses should be overhauled and an effective management be put in place who can manage the buses and prevent
its frequent breakdown. Also the number of these buses should be increased to be able to cater for the increasing
population. It was gathered from our field work that most FCT road users prefer using their private cars since
the ban on commercial mini buses because the high capacity buses are not enough along our sampled points.
5. A major cause of traffic congestion along the Zuba axis is the bad state of the road. It’s a single road
and it is filled with potholes with craters filled with water during the rainy season. This area is a major
commercial area with the presence of the Zuba international spare parts market. The FCT Administration should
as a matter of urgency repair the bad road in this axis, to an international standard which is able to carry the
heavy vehicles that ply this route.
6. As part of measures to reduce the traffic congestion experienced on feeder roads long the satellite
towns, the roads into these areas should be rehabilitated from a single road to a dual carriage way. This is
because these areas have continued to witness an increase in population and level of car ownership and these
roads can no longer accommodate the amount of vehicle going in and coming out of these areas such as the
Kubwa first gate and Kubwa second gate roads should be made a dual carriage way.
7. Pedestrian walk ways should be provided to control the interference of pedestrians with vehicular
traffic flows. Our study area is mainly a residential and commercial area. Zebra crossing should be provided in
areas with markets, schools and social centres.
8. The government should ensure that developers create parking spaces in the construction of Plazas,
markets, churches, mosques, schools etc. This will go a long way in preventing roadside parking which causes
traffic congestion. Roadside trading should also be discouraged because it reduces the width of motor-able roads
and vehicles will struggle to move in such a condition thereby causing bottlenecks. Taskforce should be put in
place to address the roadside trading and parking carried out in our study area.
9. Transport infrastructure and transport facilities are most vital component of effective and efficient
transport system in the world over, which evidently is inadequate in the study area. During our field study it was
observed that most road signs and signals that are supposed to guide motorists and pedestrians are absent or
inadequate in some areas. In areas where traffic lights are installed, some have become faulty and gives wrong
signals to motorists thereby causing confusion. Traffic control and Traffic engineering measures should be put
in place in our study area.
Implementations of the recommendation made, will go a long way to help ameliorate the problem of
vehicular road traffic congestion in the FCT as stated in this research work, congestion will be reduced at least
to the minimum if not averted for future reoccurrence. Apart from the recommendations above, the residents and
road users of the FCT and especially our sampled points have to be educated and enlightened with strict
regulations and a penalty for failure to comply with such regulation. If these measures are put in place the FCT
will be a modern and a sanitized City to work and live in.

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ALPHONSUS NWACHUKWU ALI, et. al. ―Vehicular Traffic Congestion in Selected Satellite
Towns in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria.‖ IOSR Journal of Humanities and
Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 25(7), 2020, pp. 49-60.

DOI: 10.9790/0837-2507014960 www.iosrjournals.org 60 |Page