ABSTRACT
Nigeria’s reliance on subsidized fuel has been a topic of long-standing debate because of its implication on the economy. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on transportation expenditure among households in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The emphasis was to determine how fuel subsidy removal affects the overall' spending on transportation, a crucial aspect of daily life. The study adopted the survey research design, with a study area-wide survey of 400 copies of questionnaire distributed to selected households. The study area was initially stratified using the 10 political wards. Thereafter, 10 streets were systematically selected, in which four (4) copies of the questionnaire were distributed making a total of 40 questionnaire copies for each ward. The data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were used to test the stated hypotheses. The result revealed that the removal of fuel subsidy impacted negatively on the mobility demand within the context of the number of trips the respondents embark upon. This was substantiated with the use of student t-test which returned a significant value (M1=18.40, SD1=7.417, M2=10.49, SD2=6.149, t (377) =, p<0.05). In view of this, the finding revealed the drop in the number trips by respondents after the removal of fuel subsidy. The study showed that those with personal means of mobility had to cut down on their car usage as a result of the increase in fuel price. The multiple linear regression performed to test hypothesis two of the study showed that income of household head also had impact on mobility demand, but was found not to be significant. On the other hand, household size returned a positive significant relationship with mobility demand, while the mobility demand was found to decrease among those with personal means of movement. As coping strategy measures for fuel removal, respondents advocated for trip reduction, resorted to the use of phone calls, and the use of public transport for those who owned vehicles. The multiplier effect of fuel subsidy removal was found to translate to a situation where people had to needlessly cut down spending in other welfare needs such as food and desire to travel. The study therefore, recommend that government should be ready to roll out measures that can help to reduce the burden of fuel subsidy removal in the study area.
