LAUSR

Abstract The Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) was launched in 2015 and is the first modern urban rail transit system in Ethiopia as well as in Sub Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study is to assess the socio-economic effects of the AALRT on communities around the system. Six stations were systematically selected on East-West line, and random sampling was used to collect survey data from residents living within a 1 km radius from each of the selected stations. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis by developing social and economic indicators. The analysis results show that there are positive impacts of the AALRT on adjacent residential communities such as a reduction of transport cost and travel time, as well increasing travel distance (coverage) and number of home renters around the LRT stations. In contrast, the negative impacts of the LRT were identified as separation of the adjacent residential communities and long walking distance to access the opposite side of the LRT. In some neighborhoods, the LRT line segregated residents living in the opposite sides of the line as the result of the infrastructure built above the ground. The negative impacts can be mitigated by undertaking the detailed study of the socio-economic impacts on adjacent communities before and after the implementation of AALRT. Building the line on the existing streets or underground is likely to reduce the segregation of adjacent residential communities.