Kingsley U.N Chikwendu
Transport affordability is similar to housing affordability and amongst other sectors of the economy or the daily activities of the human person, it is one of the necessities that define how functional a household can be to the society. Both are of similar characteristics due to the large portion they take from an individual’s income, they are also keyed as one of the basics, needed to operate in urban areas.
Road networking and housing locations today, are of great concern for most average citizen, whose incomes are minimal and that’s a problem for the Nigerian society. Daily, more loopholes are becoming glaring as commuters, transporters mostly from suburbs on the outskirts of major capital cities in the country ply these routes. With the poor connectivity between housing and transportation, in terms of cost and basic infrastructures, there is a growing concern for affordability.
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The amount spent on transportation monthly or annually by families when put into calculation, is huge even for those who own their personal cars, they still need to buy fuel. Calculating it and making comparison or adding it up with the amount already spent on housing, one would observe that a very large chunk of a household savings has been gulped. Housing location, especially for the low and average income earners, have a huge bearing on a family’s transportation budget.
Already, most households, individuals are suffering from the effects of some terrible decisions already made as regards where they chose to reside with the transportation costs that comes with it. They are either spending more on housing in the city, with lower transport costs, or choosing more affordable housing in suburban areas, with higher transportation cost.
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While encouraging the government on the extent they have gone in carrying out housing developments, careful considerations concerning transportation must be made by these ruling authorities while investing more in housing projects and same applies to carrying out detailed thoughts on housing while undertaking transport projects in tackling issues of housing and transport affordability. So far, it seems transportation factors are not given the maximum importance when housing policies are created, with the projects undertaken.
Therefore, in a way to make the country a better place for its citizens, the government needs to understand the importance of housing and transport affordability as an essential to the formulation of housing policies.
