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Peters K, Jenkins J, Ntramah S, Vincent J, Hayombe P, Owino F, Opiyo P, Johnson T, Santos R, Mugisha M, Chetto R. COVID-19 and the Motorcycle Taxi Sector in Sub-Saharan African Cities: A Key Stakeholders' Perspective. Transp Res Rec 2023; 2677:751-764. [PMID: 38603305 PMCID: PMC9708525 DOI: 10.1177/03611981221131538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
This article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the urban motorcycle taxi (MCT) sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). MCT operators in SSA provide essential transport services and have shown ingenuity and an ability to adapt and innovate when responding to different challenges, including health challenges. However, policymakers and regulators often remain somewhat hostile toward the sector. The article discusses the measures and restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and key stakeholders' perspectives on these and on the sector's level of compliance. Primary data were collected in six SSA countries during the last quarter of 2020. Between 10 and 15 qualitative interviews with key stakeholders relevant to the urban MCT sector were conducted in each country. These interviews were conducted with stakeholders based in the capital city and a secondary city, to ensure a geographically broader understanding of the measures, restrictions, and perspectives. The impact of COVID-19 measures on the MCT and motor-tricycle taxi sector was significant and overwhelmingly negative. Lockdowns, restrictions on the maximum number of passengers allowed to be carried at once, and more generally, a COVID-19-induced reduction in demand, resulted in a drop in income for operators, according to the key stakeholders. However, some key stakeholders indicated an increase in MCT activity and income because of the motorcycles' ability to bypass police and army controls. In most study countries measures were formulated in a non-consultative manner. This, we argue, is symptomatic of governments' unwillingness to seriously engage with the sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krijn Peters
- Department of Politics, Philosophy and
International Relations, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Jack Jenkins
- Department of Politics, Philosophy and
International Relations, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, UK
| | - Simon Ntramah
- Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research/Building and Road Institute (CSIR/BRRI), Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - James Vincent
- Integrated Community and Rural
Development Services (ICARDS), 4E Vincent Court, Off Regent Road, Lumley, Freetown,
Sierra Leone
| | - Patrick Hayombe
- School of Spatial Planning and National
Resources Management, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology,
Kenya
| | - Fredrick Owino
- School of Spatial Planning and National
Resources Management, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology,
Kenya
| | - Paul Opiyo
- Kisumu Local Interaction Platform,
Kisumu, Kenya
| | - Ted Johnson
- Lofa Integrated Development Association
(LIDA), YWCA Building, Tubman Boulevard, Congo Town, Monrovia, Liberia
| | - Rosemarie Santos
- Center of Institutional Research and
Institutional Innovation, African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU), Camp
Johnson Drive, Monrovia, Liberia
| | - Marion Mugisha
- Department of Sociology and Social
Administration, Kyambogo University, Kyambogo, Uganda
| | - Reginald Chetto
- Department of Economics and Social
Studies, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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