Transportation and Economic Development: Advancing Technological Innovation and Sustainability in the Transportation Sector of a Developing Nation

We engaged a quasi-experimental approach to estimate the impact of the O-pay technological innovation in transportation services on development outcomes in Kwara State, Nigeria. We randomly sampled 100 O-riders and 60 motorcyclists who were not under the O-Pay project. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and difference in difference estimators. The intervention effects were evaluated in the short term. Our findings showed that the average weekly income increased by 137% for participating O-riders to (N30,220 [84 USD] from N22,050 [61 USD] at baseline) attributed to the intervention. The average weekly savings of O-riders increased by 355% (N4875 [$14] to N17,309 [$48] at baseline). We found an increase in average weekly labor productivity at 160% (625.06 Naira/hour [$1.7] from N 389.6/hour [$1.1] at baseline). The intervention led to a reduction in resource wastage; for example, the weekly fuel cost was reduced by 21% (N1254 [$3.48] out of N6020 [$16.7]) when compared with the non-O-pay participants. Although evidence in the short-term revealed that smart transportation has the potential to address significant development issues, including poverty, unemployment, financial exclusion, resource wastage, poor health, and well-being, among others. Evidence showed that there is a need to plan and invest in the sustainability of technological innovations rather than focusing on innovating alone to harness its full benefits.