Travel time and speed differential analysis between Lagos bus-stop and rivers state university commercial bus corridor

This study examined the travel characteristics of commercial buses operating on a 6.3 km corridor between Lagos Bus-stop located in a residential area and Rivers State University (RSU) Bus-stop during morning peak hours (7 - 9 am). Data were collected over seven days on travel time, passenger boarding/alighting, delay time, journey speed, and running speed for both directions. Results revealed significant directional asymmetry, with the RSU → Lagos direction demonstrating superior weekday performance including lower travel times (0.37 hr vs. 0.38 - 0.41 hr) and higher journey speeds (17.22 - 17.30 km/hr vs. 15.46 - 16.54 km/hr). The RSU area functioned as a friction zone, slowing entering buses while allowing departing buses to accelerate faster. Passenger activity peaked on Monday (35 boarding) and Friday, with the RSU → Lagos direction handling higher volumes. Wednesday recorded the highest delay (0.19 hr toward Lagos), while weekend delays dropped by 40 - 50% (0.09 - 0.11 hr). The gap between running speed (26.31 - 33.45 km/hr) and journey speed (15.46 - 22.65 km/hr) indicated that dwell time and traffic delays constituted 30 - 40% of total travel time. The findings align with international research documenting 11-16% lower speeds on working days compared to weekends and significant land use impacts on bus performance. This study provides empirical evidence for evidence-based transit planning, recommending dynamic scheduling, targeted infrastructure improvements at RSU, and differential weekend operations to enhance service efficiency on this corridor