Mass Transportation System in Nigeria: Strategies for Effective Maintenance Culture in Public Sector Operations of Enugu State

Abstract

Transportation is the engine that drives the growth and development of people and countries. Mass transportation is the movement of large number of people, goods and services from one place to another in one vehicle. It is therefore inevitable for the socio-economic and socio-cultural integration of nations. Up till date, the Nigerian government expends huge financial resources on mass transportation sector on an annual basis particularly road transportation, which is the focus of this study. Despite this, the increasing rate of accidents crashes and break down of vehicles prevails. Some aspects of the sector like the railway system have gone moribund. The sector is beset and littered with obsolete and broken down vehicles and facilities; inadequacy of modern vehicles, carriers and facilities; prevalence of obsolete facilities and vehicles that are in poor conditions, poor operational capacity among other worrisome conditions. These have led to high rate of accidents and crashes; lose of lives, properties, man hour and per capita income; general environmental pollution, congestion and degradation; economic retardation as well as unsustainable development in the country. Though the Nigerian public mass transportation system has evolved over the years, it still faces huge challenges which bother much on maintenance culture. Maintenance for the mode and means of mass transportation facilities in Nigeria is being relegated to the background while favoring new procurements. This paper therefore looks into the public operated mass transportation system in Enugu state, Nigeria, with a view to determining strategies for effective maintenance culture for a sustainable development. The study revealed that the Enugu State Transportation Company (ENTRACO) has been operating under capacity and the official record of ENTRACO for the year-2013showed that this public sector operated mass transport system currently has forty three operational buses out of which 60% are functional while 40% are out of service. 95% of responses by the randomly selected administrative heads in the organizational hierarchy of ENTRACO, identified gross lack of maintenance culture as the bane of the sector which hitherto, operates below capacity in its service delivery to the over teeming population and commuters in the state.  Privatization, public private partnership among others anchored on total overhauled mass transportation system and a properly reviewed policy that enthrones an efficient management and enforcement machinery which guarantees an articulated maintenance culture were recommended.

Key words: Mass Transportation System, Maintenance Culture, Public Sector Operators in Enugu, Nigeria