Road Users’ Awareness and Utilization of Traffic Information on Google Map in Abeokuta Metropolis of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Globally, mobility and transportation are major socio-economic activities within human settlements. In Nigeria, automobiles are mostly used for the conveyance of people and goods. However, limited road networks, ineffective railway system and poor road transportation management remains perennial problems, leading to other challenges relating to human health and lifestyles. Hence, the need for effective uses of available mobile and digital traffic informational services such as Google Map. Therefore, this study investigated road users’ awareness and utilization of traffic information on Google Map in Abeokuta metropolis Ogun State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted, and multistage sampling technique was adopted to select 175 road users as respondents within study area. Instrument for data collection was a researcher-designed questionnaire named ‘Awareness and Utilization of on Google Map Traffic Information Questionnaire’ (AwUtGoMaTrInQ); r= 0.947 and the data was analysed using descriptive statistic. Findings revealed that majority (54.3%) are vehicle owners; with (54.3%) daily transit frequency, majority (81.1%) reported smart phones accessibility with (73.1%) activated Google Map mobile account. Again, majority of the road users in Abeokuta metropolis are fully aware of traffic information on Google Map to a large extent; aggregate mean score = 2.50 and are relatively utilizing traffic information on Google Map; mean scores range between 2.14 to 2.43. The study concluded that the road users are fully aware and are relatively utilizing traffic information on Google Map. It recommends that road users should continue to use information from Google Map to plan their journey time and to reduce traffic congestion on the major roads in Abeokuta metropolis.