Analysis of the relationship between income levels and modes of transport in Kigali City

Abstract

In Rwanda more than 80% of urban population live in slums where the majority of households live in poverty and those people who live there do not have access to infrastructure, this influence negatively the income they earn. This study investigates the relationship between income levels and modes of transport in Kigali City by showing how the income levels are related to modes of transport used. Many studies showed that transport contributes to income earning of the people and it is needed for assessing how income levels and modes of transport influence each other. In this research Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was used for showing the relationship between income levels and modes of transport in Kigali City. GLM was used because the dependent variables are categorical and it describes relationship between dependent categorical variables and independent variables. The living conditions (income levels) of people influence the modes of transport to be used, in this research the capabilities were used in generalized linear model and they influence both dependent and independent variables. The data were collected in three different locations of Kigali City and the selection of people to be interview was random sampling where every head or representative of household had the same chance of being interviewed. The results of SPSS show that income levels are related to modes of transport used in all areas of Kigali City, when income levels influence mode choice and also the availability of means (modes) of transport. For example the main mode of transport of the very poor and poor is walking on foot followed by bicycle. And the main mode of transport of very rich is private car followed by public transport, motorcycle and walking on foot. The model fits well with covariates and factors with goodness of fit of 904.800 while it does not fit well when covariates are removed from model where goodness of fit becomes 1220.423. The study ended by concluding that the use of modes of transport are related to income levels in Kigali City and it recommends that further researches are needed for more investigation about the relationship between income levels and modes of vii transport in Kigali City and also the provision of transport infrastructure should be enforced in all locations of Kigali City, especially in rural areas. (Key words: Income, Kigali, Mode of transport)