PASSENGERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON SECURITY AND SAFETY IN

drivers and conductors are the three top types of crime that concern passengers who use public bus transportation in the city. Additionally, most people felt more insecure while riding the bus and getting on/off the bus, particularly in the evening and between 9:00 and 12:00 p.m. local time. Thus, it is advised that the Addis Ababa City Transport Authority, the Public Bus Transport Enterprise, and other interested parties place a strong emphasis on security and safety when providing public transportation in the city. Furthermore, it is critical to perform regular victim surveys of passengers (as well as operators) to establish whether they have been criminally victimized on the bus system and by what type of crime. Equally important, regularly assess the likely usefulness of new crime prevention measures for reducing bus-related offenses and prepare an annual bus crime reduction strategy.


INTRODUCTION
By providing mobility access to employment, recreation, and other activities, public transit has played an important role in decreasing social exclusion, showing apparent environmental benefits by lowering the burden of cars and other non-public transportation journeys [1].Furthermore, many people agree that the safety and security aspects of public transportation operations are critical, as a large number of people use public transit [2].
Nonetheless, despite security and safety being prominent concepts in our daily lives, research into these topics in the public transportation sector, particularly in developing countries, has been limited [3].This study aims to assess passengers' perceptions of security and safety in the functioning of public transportation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Currently, several illegal acts have become more aggressive and frequent, with criminals becoming more daring in their actions.Addis Ababa's crime rate has risen faster than ever, and these incidents have been reported in numerous media outlets, including newspapers and television.
Crimes are divided into two types: violent and property crimes.Rape, robbery, murder, attempted murder, and armed robbery are examples of violent crimes.While car theft, motorbike theft, and burglary are examples of property crimes [4].Existing and potential users of public transportation are affected by crime in a variety of ways.As such, identifying the prevalence of crime and the kinds of crime in the city is fundamental to responding appropriately.Thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate passengers' perceptions of security and safety while using public bus transportation in the city.
It also has the following specific goals: -to identify passengers' concerns about using public bus transportation in the city, -to analyze the types and incidences of crime that occur when using public bus transport in the city.

SECURITY AND SAFETY IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Public transportation provides its users with mobility, while somehow having a large impact on the system.Accordingly, it should be operated in such a way as to achieve an efficient and effective transportation system.To fulfill this, the quality of service must be examined as a way of evaluating its performance [2].The issue of security and safety, in particular, is one of the most crucial factors in determining the quality of transport, which should be thoroughly researched.This is because these attributes have a wide range of effects on existing and potential public transit customers [5].
Walking to, from, or between transportation facilities or stations; waiting at boarding points and facilities; and traveling onboard a form of transportation such as a bus, train, or cab exposes one to the different kinds of crimes committed on public transportation [6].The targets of criminality range from the system itself (vandalism, fee evasion), to staff (assaults on ticket collectors), and passengers (pickpocketing, assault).The real and perceived risk of being a victim of a crime while using public transportation is covered by security [7].Thus, transit systems employ several security measures onboard transit vehicles, including the installation of surveillance cameras [4].Similarly, one of the most significant factors in determining the quality of transport is the issue of safety.While riding a train, one runs the risk of being involved in a collision or being a victim of a crime.Safety concerns were identified as a barrier to people using public transportation as a means of transportation [7].Moreover, pickpocketing, overhanging facilities, overcrowding, and lack of monitoring are the most common safety concerns for users [7,8].

Study area
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia (Figure 1).It is often regarded as Africa's "political capital" due to its historical, diplomatic, and political significance.It is situated in the middle of the country, at a height of 2,400 meters above mean sea level, with a rolling hilly surface.The city covers a total area of 527 square kilometers.Addis Ketema, Akaki Kality, Arada, Bole, Kolfe Keranio, Gulele, Kirkos, Lideto, Nifasilk Lafto, and Yeka are among the city's ten sub-cities.These sub-cities are further divided into 116 woredas levels for administrative purposes.

Data collection and analysis method
To reach genuine respondents for this survey, a multistage sampling procedure was used.Accordingly, stratified sampling was used to choose terminals first, followed by systematic sampling to select route lines from those terminals for the study.Finally, convenience sampling was used to select respondents while they were traveling on a certain bus route (number).The study has a sample size of 500 people.Yamane's (1967) formula was used to discover it.
Consequently, both qualitative and quantitative metrics were used in this study's methodology.The qualitative metrics were collected by observing the amenities provided in the terminals, which included lighting, parking, and a pedestrian walkway to the station.Data was obtained from travelers using a questionnaire for quantitative measures.The data was then analyzed using the SPSS software (Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences).Frequencies analysis was used in this study to acquire the respondent's characteristics and their perceptions on the subject of security and safety of the city's public transportation system.

Profile of sample respondents
There were 297 males (59.4%) and 203 females (40.6%) in the sample group.A considerable percentage of the participants (35.0%) were between the ages of 26 and 35, while 30.6 % were between the ages of 36 and 50.In terms of employment status, the majority (38.8%) work in private institutions, whereas 28.8% were engaged in their firm.

Users' Concern about using public bus transport
To begin, an attempt was made to identify the major concerns of passengers who use the city's bus system.Following which the top concerns of passengers using public bus transport in the city were identified and ranked (Figure 2).

Fig. 2. Concerns about using bus transport in rank (%)
As seen above, the first main concern of passengers using public bus transport in the city was overcrowding of buses with travelers (70.4 %).The second and third biggest concerns of travelers using public bus transport in the city were personal insecurity (fear of crime) and infrequency of service, with 67.6 and 40.4%, respectively.However, when it came to taking public transportation in the city, fares were the last issue on the people's minds.It implies that ticket prices are not a major concern for bus riders in the city; they are content with the service fare.
This finding is related to a study [10], which found that personal security is the secondhighest limiting factor in public transportation use, after reliability.Accordingly, alleviating such anxieties could result in a considerable increase in bus usage.Furthermore, this study aims to determine the level of consumers' concern about crime and accidents when using public bus transportation in the city.In addition, the photographic images depict the scenario of overcrowding on buses, and clients waiting for bus services in the city (Figure 3).

. Fear of crime
This study aimed to determine the rate of fear of crime and related difficulties associated with public transportation in the city.Figure 4 reveals that 25.8 and 23.2% of respondents said they are afraid of crime to some extent and moderately, respectively.On the contrary, 20.6% said they were not worried about crime when using the city's public bus service.Fig. 4. Rate of fear of crime in using bus transport

Criminal incidents
Furthermore, this study attempts to determine whether respondents have ever had a crime incidence while using public transportation in the city.Resultantly, 29.8% of respondents said they have previously encountered criminal occurrences when riding a bus in the city, while 70.2% said they had never faced this problem.Likewise, 93 (62.4%) of the participants who had been victims of crime had experienced crime episodes at least once.Additionally, while using transport services in the city, 46 (30.9%) and 10 (6.7%) of them had encountered such 2-3 times and more than three times, respectively.

Place and hours users feel insecure
Respondents were asked questions about the precise in which they feel anxious when taking public transportation to learn more about the specific situation in which they feel insecure.As shown in Figure 7, most respondents (43.4%) and (33.8%) believed that they felt more unsafe while riding the bus and getting on/in/out of the bus, respectively.Similarly, 14.0% of respondents felt unsafe waiting at boarding points and amenities such as bus stops and stations.Finally, 8.8% of participants declared that they feel more insecure when walking to, from, or between bus stops/stations.In addition, this study aims to determine which hours of the day customers are more fearful of using public bus transport in the city.As can be seen in the graph below, most of the research participants (46.0%) agreed that they felt insecure at night (Figure 8).Further, 23.6% of them said they felt insecure from 9:00 to 12:00 a.m.local time in the evening.Also, 15.0 and 9.6% said they are insecure between the hours of 1:00 to 3:00 a.m.local time and early morning at dark, respectively.Finally, the least (5.8%) of respondents felt insecure between the hours of 4:00 to 8:00 a.m.local time.Subsequently, most users are anxious during peak hours and at night, as evidenced by the overall results.This is primarily due to bus overcrowding at this particular time and place.The following images depict the service situation at peak hours and at night, making people feel uncomfortable when using public transportation in the city (Figure 9).Respondents were also asked which sort of crime worry them the most when taking public transportation in the city.As shown in Figure 10, the first two kinds of crime that concern users in the city are pickpockets (65.2%) and inappropriate touching (45.0%).Pickpocketing is the most common type of crime experienced by passengers when using mass transit services [11], and these incidents all occurred in locations specifically associated with public transit, such as train stations, taxi ranks, bus stops, or modal interchanges as well as onboard trains and taxies [11].
Furthermore, the biggest crimes that occur on the train include pickpocketing, sexual harassment, and theft of passenger belongings [12].Finally, the third and fourth most common types of crime that affect users of public bus transportation in the city are the disrespectful language of drivers and conductors (35.4%) and mugging (29.0%).The next figure in rank shows the detailed findings for the other variables.As the preceding facts demonstrate, pickpockets and inappropriate touching are the most common sorts of crimes affecting passengers using Addis Ababa's public transport system.

Fear of accidents
Another key topic addressed in this study is the issue of safety when using public transportation in the city.Hence, respondents were asked questions about their view of safety (fear of accidents), their experience with accidents, and the severity degree of the accidents if they were a victim of the city's public bus problem.
As seen in the graph below, 31.8% of the study's participants said they were not afraid of accidents while riding the city's public bus.While 12.4 and 9.4% of respondents stated that when using the bus, they are very afraid and extremely afraid of accidents, respectively.The following diagram depicts the details (Figure 11).

Accidental occurrences
Thereafter, they were questioned whether they had been in an accident while using bus transportation; upon which, 11.4 % responded that they had been in an accident while using bus transportation, while the majority, 88.6% declared that they had not (Figure 12).Respondents were also asked how many times they encountered car accidents and how serious the incidents were based on their replies to the previous question.As shown in Figure 13, 9% of participants answered having been in an accident once, and 2.4 % reported having been in an accident 2-3 times when riding the public bus in Addis Ababa.However, no one has been in an accident more than three times while riding the bus.Similarly, when asked about the severity of the accidents, 3.6 % said they had very little, and 2.6% said the incident level was serious.Fig. 13.The number of episodes and the intensity of each Finally, it is suggested that the Public Bus Transport Enterprise, the Addis Ababa Transport Authority, and other interested parties conduct regular victim surveys of passengers (as well as operators) to determine whether they have been criminally victimized on the bus system and what type of crime they have been victimized by.In addition, the aforementioned bodies should evaluate the likely benefit of new crime prevention methods to reduce bus-related crimes regularly and develop an annual bus crime reduction strategy.

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3. Scenario of public transport service in the city Source: field survey

Early morning at dark 1 :Fig. 10 .
Fig. 10.Crime type concerns of users of bus transport (in rank %)

Fig. 12 .
Fig. 12. Accident victims/incidents Table 1 shows the summary statistics for the other variables.