A study has been carried out to examine the effects on rural travel behaviour of the opening of the Embu-Meru road in Northern Kenya. Completed in 1985, this 54 kilometre bitumenized road has given improved access to a fertile coffee and tea-growing area. In 1983, a 'before' survey was carried out to acquire baseline data. Information was collected by interviewing all members of 25 selected households in each of 12 villages, giving a total of 300 households and about 2000 persons. The villages chosen were located at varying distances from the new road. The main surveys, which were carried out in the house or on the farm of the respondent, were in two parts; a basic interview to collect household and income information, and a travel log to record all journeys made by members of the household which included a vehicle trip. The travel log for each household covered a period of four weeks and was collected on a regular weekly basis. In 1986 and 1989, the surveys were repeated, using the same interview procedures on the same households covered in the 1983 study where possible. Ninety-four per cent of the households interviewed in the 1983 study were covered in all three surveys. An important feature of the analysis was the need to distinguish between the effects of the road and sharp income changes which had arisen from strong fluctuations in world tea and coffee prices.
Abstract