THE IMPORTANCE OF INLAND ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN IMO STATE

1.1 Introduction

The transport system is often described as the lifeblood system of modern society. Roads constitute a fundamental part of this system for both passenger and freight transports. Roads have an aesthetical dimension if they are used or not. Roads can constitute a barrier. Road freight transport is a source of congestion. Freight transports reduce the available capacity for passenger movement. The most severe consequences of the use of roads for freight transports deal with sustainability. This includes economic sustainability for individuals, companies and society; environmental sustainability for current and future generations and the survival of planet earth; and social sustainability for traffic accidents, working conditions and gender equality.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

The background to this paper comes from reports that state the road network alone cannot cope with the expected increase in transport flows. Important road freight areas and issues about how to reach a more sustainable freight system are identified and discussed in this paper. These discussions include multimodal terminals and operations, autonomous vehicles, ITS, infrastructure usage, economies of scale, and behaviour/educational issues. The function of the road, from a freight perspective, is manifold. It is used for small shipments over short distances as well as their counterparts. Road freight is most often necessary in the beginning and in the end of the multimodal transport chain (first/last mile logistics). Furthermore, road freight is the only mode involved in many door-to-door freight chains, as it is usually the only mode involved. Such a chain might constitute one or several truck movements.

The function of road infrastructure and road transports is to improve the logistic utility to make sure that commodities are where and when they are demanded by the customers. If for some reason road freight transports came to a complete cessation over the period of a week the consequences would be very dramatic, as shown by McKinnon (2006). A similar study was performed by Sveriges Åkeriföretag (2009). They concluded that the most basic functions in society, such as food supply, rubbish handling, and hospital functions would stop, and this would result in chaos for many levels of society.

The use of the road for freight movements allows products to be available to customers. It creates time and place utility. The product can be where it is needed when it is needed. Since freight transport can typically be understood as a cheap factor of production the truck transports are often used in a way that might not be optimal from a freight efficiency perspective, but may be optimal when taking the logistical chain - including production and warehousing strategies - into account. However, road freight transports definitely have drawbacks for our current and future society and its inhabitants.

Many ongoing megatrends, such as population growth, urbanization, globalization, digitalization and demographic change will further increase the pressure on freight transports in the future. Even more challenging than the population increase, from a freight transport perspective, is the fact that the number of people joining the middle class is increasing very fast. As a consequence the demand for products will increase dramatically. This was described by the World Economic Forum (2014) as a potential time bomb. The increasing use of advanced packaging and changed manufacturing and logistic strategies will also lead to more freight transports. Road freight, in absolute terms, will increase more than the railway. This is a huge challenge. Meeting the future demand of road freight cannot only be accomplished by building new roads and additional lanes in most countries. Other measures are also necessary. An increased understanding of the role of the road for freight distribution is necessary to increase the sustainability of the freight transport system.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Importance of Inland Road Transport System in Imo State.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

The environmental influence of road freight is severe and hard to tackle. The consequences are local, regional and global. This regards GHG emissions and the consequences such as extreme weather, rising sea levels and noise. Traffic safety is another major concern even though there are fewer persons being killed in road accidents in many countries (OECD/ITF, 2015). Heavy trucks are involved in a disproportionate share of those accidents (Dong et al, 2015) even though they might not be the cause of the accident.

Congested roads cost society a lot of money. It is estimated that the cost of congestion for the EU economy is more than 1% of GDP (which is more than the EU budget) according to the EU (2012). Congestion varies over the course of a day and a week, as well as throughout the year. Congestion increases total emissions and reduces the reliability of the service.

Since roads constitute such a fundamental part of the transportation system, it is essential to investment in new infrastructure as well as maintain and reconstruct existing infrastructure. The latter is stressed in Piarc (2015b) who holds that the ageing of roads together with increasing traffic volumes are factors which highlight the importance of increasing the resources spent on road maintenance worldwide. It is stressed that the cost for maintaining a major paved road is a small fraction (2-3%) of the initial investment cost. This fraction is twice as large for an unpaved rural road (relative to the initial investment).

The reliability of transporting goods might suffer from phenomena such as severe weather conditions and poor infrastructure and maintenance. These problems become worse as climate changes. Accidents and breakdowns also contribute to reduced reliability. Trucks are not suitable for moving freight over very long distances. Generally the costs are too high for bulky goods in combination with long distances (Beuthe et al, 2001). It should also be understood that the speed of the service is normally good but sometimes it falls short and cannot satisfy customer demands.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to evaluate the Importance of Inland Roads in Imo State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the effect of inland roads transportation system on economic growth in Imo State.
2. To determine the relationship between road transportation and economic growths in Imo State.
3. To determine the relationship between Inland roads and transportation effectiveness in Imo State.
4. To find out the problems facing Imo State road transportation system.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the effect of inland roads transportation system on economic growth in Imo State?
• Is there any relationship between road transportation and economic growths in Imo State?
• Is there any relationship between Inland roads and transportation effectiveness in Imo State?
• Are there any problems facing Imo State inland road transportation system?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significance factor affecting the Inland Roads Transportation System in Imo State
• H1: There is a significance factor affecting the Inland Roads Transportation System in Imo State

1.7 Significance of Study

In this study, the researchers have set out to evaluate the Importance of Inland Roads in Imo State. It would enable the officer’s in-charge to improve on the system of transportation where lapses are discovered or exists. The study would also educate those who do not understand the essence of transportation and its economic growth of any nation. This study will also help to serve as literature (reference source) to students, individuals or corporate bodies into what to carry out on further research on the similar topic.

1.8 Scope of the Study

This study is limited to the Importance of Inland Road Transport System in Imo State, Nigeria.

1.9 Limitation of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.10 Definition of Terms

Transportation: It is an act, process, or instance of transporting or being transported. Any device used to move an item from one location to another.

Accessibility: accessibility refers to ease of reaching destinations. People in places that are highly accessible would reach many other activities or destinations quickly and people in inaccessible places can reach many fewer places in the same amount of time, so that nearer or less expensive places are weighted more than farther or more expensive places.