S. Blankhart

Transport for the Urban Poor in Lusaka

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PART TWO: TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOW-INCOME GROUPS - Distance to Workplace

All the respondents were asked the place where they worked. These places were located and the distances to the residential area of respondent was measured in kilometres.

The main places of work of the inhabitants of the squatter settlements which were studied were the industrial areas (27.3% of the working population), the Central Business District including Kamwala Market (22.9%), Ridgeway (7.1%) and the residential area self or neighbouring squatter settlements (26.1%). The first three areas are the areas described in Part One as the main activity centres. The high percentage of people working residential areas is typical for lower income residential areas, where a large part of the working force is involved in informal sector activities.

Table 7 gives the distances the workers have to travel to their place of work.

Table 7: Distances travelled to workplace (% of working population)

The mean distance people travel to their work is 4.3 kilometer. The differences between the mean distances to work per area are not great. In Garden the mean distance people travel to their workplace is 3.8 kilometer, in George and Chawama 4.2 kilometres, in Kanyama 4.5 kilometres and in Chipata 4.9 kilometres. Although the areas are located differently in relation to the main working places, mean distances do not differ substantially.

There is a relation between the residential area and the workplace (see also Map.5). E.g. a relatively small number of the inhabitants of Chawama work in the industrial area which is comparatively far away. A large percentage of inhabitants of Kanyama, which is close to the industrial area and the CBD, work in these two areas. For the inhabitants of George the industrial area is the place which is most accessible in terms of distance, and by far the largest percentage of the working population in George works in this area. In this context the results of a study in Chainda, an eccentrically located squatter settlement 18 kilometres West of the CHD, are interesting. (An unpublished study on 'Transport in and out of a peri-urban settlement' by students of social Development Studies, University of Zambia in 1979.) It was found that of the respondents who were in wage employment only 12% worked in the CDD and the industrial area. The rest worked in the surrounding residential areas or farms, at the nearby International Airport or in Chawama site. It is obvious that the growth of the largest squatter settlements (George, Kanyama, Chawama and the Chaisa- Garden- Chipata Complex) has been influenced by their proximity to the main places of work. It is generally assumed that poorer sections of the urban population developing countries find residential areas close to their workplaces to minimize travelling costs.

In Lusaka we can also assume that the choice of the residential area is determined by the place of work and not vice versa, as the shortage of accommodation in the squatter settlements is not as acute as the shortage of employment opportunities.

Within the squatter-settlements self we found, however, a relation between income and distance to work. It should however be noted that income differentiation within the squatter areas is small compared to overall Lusaka.

Map 5: Journey from residential area to work