Earning a living, but at what price? Being a motorcycle taxi driver in a Sub-Saharan African city

Abstract

International audienceMotorcycle taxis have become an essential part of the transport sector in an increasing number of Sub-Saharan African cities. An analysis of the way this activity operates in Lomé (Togo), based on field surveys, provides a better understanding of the reasons for the development of this transport mode. The majority of drivers earn enough from the activity to meet their day to day needs and to invest to increase human and economic capital. The arduous working conditions, the impacts on health and the risk of accidents and aggression explain however why 2 the activity is perceived as temporary and undertaken for want of anything better. There is a need to identify measures to professionalise the occupation and improve its image, and also find the best way to implement them. The occasionally stated goal of doing away with motorcycle taxis in order to modernize urban transport systems would have negative effects on their livelihoods

Towards decolonised knowledge about transport

“…Reliable statistics on the significance of mobility as livelihood are extremely rare, but there are estimates that between 1 in 50 and 1 and 5 inhabitants of Uganda's capital Kampala is a boda boda (motor taxi) driver (Doherty, 2017). As in Lomé, Togo (Diaz Olvera et al, 2016), the motorbike taxi industry in Kampala absorbs much of the surplus labour of young men, often migrants from smaller cities and rural areas with dreams of upward social mobility, who are excluded from the formal employment sector.…”

Mapping Rural Road Networks from Global Positioning System (GPS) Trajectories of Motorcycle Taxis in Sigomre Area, Siaya County, Kenya

“…Additionally, an understanding the mobility characteristics of motorcycle taxis, which are increasingly becoming major providers of transport services in rural areas within sub-Saharan Africa could provide the necessary data for simulating the contribution of the taxis to pollution and to health-related problems. This may be particularly relevant since, the passengers who use the taxis may be exposed to dust, noise, and adverse weather conditions [51], which may be linked to the increase of pneumonia cases and chest problems among riders and passengers.…”

Towards a geography of informal transport: Mobility, infrastructure and urban sustainability from the back of a motorbike

“…The knowledge and skills of boda drivers are critical, whereby they “will suggest you the roads, making you to go faster.” Boda mobility depends upon the ability of drivers to negotiate dangerous traffic and road conditions, or what Doherty () calls “infrastructural violence.” Police harassment and extortion related to the impoundment of bikes contribute to a broader violence of informality. Few drivers spoke about big crashes, though there were many references to friends being hurt and killed “in the line of duty.” Safety equipment is perceived as desirable but difficult, especially gloves and masks to mitigate the notoriously arduous conditions that include dust and heat (Olvera et al., ). Flexibility of labour underpins flexibility of mobility, but has desirable consequences for drivers as well in terms of income.…”

“…Few drivers spoke about big crashes, though there were many references to friends being hurt and killed "in the line of duty." Safety equipment is perceived as desirable but difficult, especially gloves and masks to mitigate the notoriously arduous conditions that include dust and heat (Olvera et al, 2016). Flexibility of labour underpins flexibility of mobility, but has desirable consequences for drivers as well in terms of income.…”