Motorcycle-taxis in sub-Saharan Africa: Current knowledge, implications for the debate on “informal” transport and research needs

The effects of e-ridehailing on motorcycle ownership in an emerging-country megacity

“…Examples include 'win motor-sai's in Bangkok, Thailand, 'ojek's in Jakarta, Indonesia, 'okada's in Lagos, Nigeria, 'boda-boda's in Kampala, Uganda and Dar-Es-Salam, Tanzania, or 'moto's in Phnom Penh, Vietnam and Kigali, Rwanda. In Sub-Saharan Africa, motorcycles and motorcycle taxis could form up to 75% of the traffic in low volume rural roads (Transaid, 2017). For trips involving only one passenger, motorcycle taxis are convenient and can be cheaper than using regular taxis or other forms of paratransits for short distances or owning private vehicles (Ehebrecht et al, 2018). In megacities such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Lagos, where traffic congestion is a perennial problem, motorcycle taxis are especially popular due to their ability to weave through the stagnant traffic and in small alleys, making them significantly quicker than other road-based vehicles (Kamuhanda and Schmidt, 2009).…”

“…As the numbers above show, motorcycle taxis are clearly a large source of employment -primarily in the informal sector -in many of the megacities in the developing and emerging countries (Cervero 2000, Olvera et al 2016, Ehebrecht et al 2018. The benefits and costs of motorcycle taxis as a paratransit mode have been discussed in literature -generally in the context of informal transport (Cervero and Golub 2007).…”

Electric three-wheelers as an alternative to combustion-engined autorickshaws in Dar es Salaam - Generation of a standard drive cycle, Power Train modelling and simulation of the energy demand of light electric vehicles

“…However, the usage of 3-wheel taxis during the field trip in Dar es Salaam gave the impression, that those standard cycles do not come close to the real usage of the vehicles and therefore would lead to a non-representative energy demand. From the first field trip in 2018 a huge data base of GPS-tracked 2 velocity, acceleration and deceleration points in the trips. Partly following the approach of Eghtessad [10], an artificial test cycle has been generated reflecting the percentage of the counted velocities and accelerations and thereby representing an average 3-wheeler trip in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.…”

"You are asking me to pay for my legs"

“…Examples include explorations on how capacity-building of operators could inform the public transport reform process [75]; the progress, process, and risks of engaging operators for public transport reform in Cape Town, South Africa [76]; policy challenges in developing countries on hybrid urban transport systems caused by the complexities and constraints of old, existing systems [25]; the organization and improved services of inner-city Matatu (taxis) and the potential for their transferability [8]; and the structuring of a user satisfaction model based on observed and unobserved variables from commuters in Nairobi, Kenya [30]. We also encountered literature on the role played by motorcycle taxis in providing IPT: they contribute to increased employment opportunities [62], improve access and last mile distribution [32], increase women ridership in urban areas [71], and potentially expand urban transportation systems [21].…”