Leveling and its effect on the service provision of long distance bus transport in Africa: The case of Addis Ababa

The study presents the intent for making levels among buses and its effect on the service provision of Long Distance Buses (LDB) Transport that emanates from Addis Ababa. The methodology focused more on both primary and secondary sources. The primary informants were principally distinguished from the passengers, operators, and key government officials from the transport office include the head of bus terminal and association, and selected experts. In terms of analysis, the qualitative approach was done by using thick description on the issue. The finding prevails that there are remarkable changes that have from the practice of Business Process re-Engineering (BPR) system since 2009. Notable changes are seen in the areas of service provision such as ticketing, getting dispatch, selecting routes, setting fare for the trip, addressing the service to all parts of the nation and others. In the level system, the buses are classified in the sector into three levels: level 1, level 2 and level 3. The study explores that passengers would prefer to make mobility according to their income level to its service quality. The priority points of passengers for intercity mobility lie more on less transport cost than the comfort and facility of buses. Thus, leveling brings a visible change on the overwhelming aspects of the industry. It is recommended that the government should follow and improve existing service provision for it not to be like that of the former.   Key words: Industry, leveling, on-journey season, dispatch and long distance bus.