The role and impact of motorcycle-taxis: a systematic review
Tom Courtright, Roger Behrens
Abstract
Motorcycle-taxis have exploded in popularity over the past two decades across Africa and Latin America, after initially being primarily a Southeast Asian phenomenon. Recently, frameworks for measuring the success of transport systems have been increasingly influenced by the accessibility paradigm, which aims to move measures of transport networks from a mobility or speed-based paradigm towards one focused on the ease of reaching destinations. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the state of knowledge on the role and impact of motorcycle-taxis on transportation systems using a broadened accessibility framework. This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA method, and the search was conducted primarily through the ScienceDirect platform. From an initial search with 1,800 results, 152 items were found to be relevant to the topic of motorcycle-taxis and accessibility. Most of the studies were conducted in Asia, Africa, or Latin America, and the themes of labor, ride-hailing platforms, access to services, and specific accessibility factors were identified. While several aspects of accessibility were discussed, motorcycle-taxis negative impacts on road safety was a common theme, while the more positive impacts are touched on but not investigated fully. Previous studies also tended to take a narrow view of accessibility, viewing it only through a single accessibility factor – such as time-cost – and do not assess the complete range of factors affecting accessibility. The limited range of evidence on the impact of motorcycle-taxis leaves a gap in the literature. This lack of evidence has led to erratic policy, including bans and crackdowns, that fail to balance the obvious road safety risks of motorcycle-taxis with their potential accessibility benefits. It is concluded that a more holistic assessment of motorcycle-taxis could help to improve policies.