Perspectives of transport operators and passengers on the spread of communicable diseases on the public road transport system in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Transport facilitates socio-economic and political development of every country. In spite of its role in the development of nations, transport has also been identified as a means of spreading some communicable diseases where there are inadequate measures to prevent such spread. Preparedness is facilitated by people’s awareness of the existence of these communicable diseases, and their attitude also play a key role in preventing such diseases from spreading. This study sought to explore the views of transport operators and passengers on the spread of communicable diseases on the public road transport system in Accra, Ghana. Qualitative research methods in the form of in-depth interviews and observations were adopted for data collection. Qualitative analysis in the form of thematic analysis was used to analyse data collected from the field. The study concluded that, at least some section of transport operators, as well as passengers are aware of the possibility of spreading communicable diseases in the public road transport system but are not very conscious of this fact, therefore they do behave in ways that could increase the risk of spread of diseases through their daily transport activities. However, the study also showed that some transport operators and passengers are prepared to adopt preventive measures to make the use of public transport as safe as possible. The study recommends strict adherence to international acceptable standards in the construction and arrangement of seats on passenger vehicles to avoid overcrowding.