American Journal of Civil Engineering

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Motorcycle Taxis in Public Transportation Services within the Accra Metropolis

Received: 31 August 2014    Accepted: 15 September 2014    Published: 20 September 2014
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Abstract

The Road Traffic Act (Act 683) passed in 2004 by the Parliament of Ghana precludes the use of motorcycles to carry fare-paying passengers, yet motorcycle taxi services are gradually gaining root within the public transportation sector in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. Even though the services are not yet operated city-wide, they have begun raising public concern. This study looked at the operation and management of motorcycle taxi services in Accra and surveyed the opinions of operators, users and non-users on the services. It was established that motorcycle taxi services in the Accra Metropolis are patronized mostly by short-distance urban commuters, particularly during peak periods of traffic flow when there is heavy congestion. Patronage is gender- and age-biased as majority of patrons are male and young. Due to lack of regulation, the services tend to be concentrated along only a few routes perceived by the operators as profitable. Public opinion and acceptance of this form of public transportation are mixed. Of the 201 non-users interviewed, a slight majority (56%) thought that the ban implicit in the Road Traffic Act on such forms of public transportation must be enforced. Most (68%) of the patrons interviewed considered the services convenient for beating traffic congestion and safe due to the short trip lengths. Commuters who shy away from the services cited safety (46%) and illegality of services (34%) as their major concerns; only 4% cited the fear of falling into the hands of criminals as a concern. For the service providers, most of whom are no more than high school graduates, the taxis offer subsistence in a country where employment is hard to come by.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12
Published in American Journal of Civil Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 4, July 2014)
Page(s) 117-122
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Accra Metropolis, Congregation Points, Motorcycle Taxis, Public Transportation Services, Road Traffic Act

References
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[3] E. M. Assamoi and C. Liousse. A new inventory for two-wheel vehicle emissions in West Africa for 2002. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 44, Issue 32, 2010, pp. 3985-3996.
[4] M. Sohail, D. A. C. Maunder, and S. Cavill. Effective regulation for sustainable public transport in developing countries. Transport Policy 13, 2006, pp. 177-190.
[5] World Moto, http://www.worldmoto.com/about-industry.php. Accessed August 17, 2014.
[6] G. M. M. Nyachieo. Creating Employment through Transport; the Youth and Motorcycle (Boda Boda) in Kitengela, Kajiado County-Kenya, Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies (RJOPES), Vo. 2, No. 4, July, 2013.
[7] O. Olurinola. Informal Self-Employment and Poverty Alleviation: Empirical Evidence from Motorcycle Taxi Riders in Nigeria. International Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 2, May, 2011
[8] R. Cervero and A. Golub. Informal Transport: A global perspective. Transport Policy, 14(6), 2007, pp. 445-457.
[9] E. O. Odelowo. “Pattern of trauma resulting from motorcycle accidents in Nigerians: a two-year prospective study,” African Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences, 23.2, 1994, pp. 109-12.
[10] T. R. Miller, R. S. Spicer, D. C. Lestina, and D. T. Levy. Is it safest to travel by bicycle, car, or big truck? Journal of Crash Prevention and Injury Control, 1(1), 1999, pp. 25-34.
[11] K. S. Oluwadiya, L. M. Oginni, A. A. Olasinde, and S. O. Fadiora. “Motorcycle limb injuries in a developing country”, West African Journal of Medicine, 2004, Jan.-March 23 (1): 42-47.
[12] B. A. Solagberu, C. K. P. Ofoegbu, A. A. Nasir, O. K. Ogundipe, A. O. Adekanye, and L. O. Abdur-Rahman. Motorcycle injuries in a developing country and the vulnerability of riders, passengers, and pedestrians. Injury Prevention, Vol. 12, Issue 4, 2006, pp. 266-268.
[13] National Road Safety Commission. The use of motorcycles for transporting passengers for hire and reward in Ghana (2004–2006). Accra, 2010.
[14] F. Messan, M. Lawani, B. Akplogan, P. Dansou, D. Mama, R. Hounkponou, and R. Dagnitché. "Bronchospasm Diagnosis in Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Exposed to Automotive Pollutants in Porto-Novo," Open Journal of Respiratory Diseases, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013, pp. 13-20. doi: 10.4236/ojrd.2013.31003.
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[16] T. Harkness. “Motorcycle taxis face ban.” The Telegraph, Wednesday May 25, 2011, London. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/2732923/Motorcycle-taxis-face-ban.html. Accessed August 20, 2014.
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Author Information
  • Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

  • Department of Urban Roads, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Accra, Ghana

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  • APA Style

    Yaw Adubofour Tuffour, Daniel Kofi Nti Appiagyei. (2014). Motorcycle Taxis in Public Transportation Services within the Accra Metropolis. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 2(4), 117-122. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12

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    Yaw Adubofour Tuffour; Daniel Kofi Nti Appiagyei. Motorcycle Taxis in Public Transportation Services within the Accra Metropolis. Am. J. Civ. Eng. 2014, 2(4), 117-122. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12

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    AMA Style

    Yaw Adubofour Tuffour, Daniel Kofi Nti Appiagyei. Motorcycle Taxis in Public Transportation Services within the Accra Metropolis. Am J Civ Eng. 2014;2(4):117-122. doi: 10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12,
      author = {Yaw Adubofour Tuffour and Daniel Kofi Nti Appiagyei},
      title = {Motorcycle Taxis in Public Transportation Services within the Accra Metropolis},
      journal = {American Journal of Civil Engineering},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {117-122},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajce.20140204.12},
      abstract = {The Road Traffic Act (Act 683) passed in 2004 by the Parliament of Ghana precludes the use of motorcycles to carry fare-paying passengers, yet motorcycle taxi services are gradually gaining root within the public transportation sector in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. Even though the services are not yet operated city-wide, they have begun raising public concern. This study looked at the operation and management of motorcycle taxi services in Accra and surveyed the opinions of operators, users and non-users on the services. It was established that motorcycle taxi services in the Accra Metropolis are patronized mostly by short-distance urban commuters, particularly during peak periods of traffic flow when there is heavy congestion.  Patronage is gender- and age-biased as majority of patrons are male and young. Due to lack of regulation, the services tend to be concentrated along only a few routes perceived by the operators as profitable. Public opinion and acceptance of this form of public transportation are mixed. Of the 201 non-users interviewed, a slight majority (56%) thought that the ban implicit in the Road Traffic Act on such forms of public transportation must be enforced. Most (68%) of the patrons interviewed considered the services convenient for beating traffic congestion and safe due to the short trip lengths. Commuters who shy away from the services cited safety (46%) and illegality of services (34%) as their major concerns; only 4% cited the fear of falling into the hands of criminals as a concern. For the service providers, most of whom are no more than high school graduates, the taxis offer subsistence in a country where employment is hard to come by.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AU  - Yaw Adubofour Tuffour
    AU  - Daniel Kofi Nti Appiagyei
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    JF  - American Journal of Civil Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Civil Engineering
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.20140204.12
    AB  - The Road Traffic Act (Act 683) passed in 2004 by the Parliament of Ghana precludes the use of motorcycles to carry fare-paying passengers, yet motorcycle taxi services are gradually gaining root within the public transportation sector in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. Even though the services are not yet operated city-wide, they have begun raising public concern. This study looked at the operation and management of motorcycle taxi services in Accra and surveyed the opinions of operators, users and non-users on the services. It was established that motorcycle taxi services in the Accra Metropolis are patronized mostly by short-distance urban commuters, particularly during peak periods of traffic flow when there is heavy congestion.  Patronage is gender- and age-biased as majority of patrons are male and young. Due to lack of regulation, the services tend to be concentrated along only a few routes perceived by the operators as profitable. Public opinion and acceptance of this form of public transportation are mixed. Of the 201 non-users interviewed, a slight majority (56%) thought that the ban implicit in the Road Traffic Act on such forms of public transportation must be enforced. Most (68%) of the patrons interviewed considered the services convenient for beating traffic congestion and safe due to the short trip lengths. Commuters who shy away from the services cited safety (46%) and illegality of services (34%) as their major concerns; only 4% cited the fear of falling into the hands of criminals as a concern. For the service providers, most of whom are no more than high school graduates, the taxis offer subsistence in a country where employment is hard to come by.
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