Navigating Risks and Realities: Understanding Motorbike Taxi Usage and Safety Strategies in Yaoundé and Douala (Cameroon)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Motorbike taxis are widely used in Yaoundé and Douala, despite their association with heightened accident risks and relatively high fares. This research combines qualitative methods, including 38 semi-structured interviews and direct field observations, with a quantitative survey of 280 motorbike taxi passengers (customers). It employs a dynamic risk approach to analyse both the factors motivating individuals to choose motorbike taxis and the strategies adopted by drivers and passengers to mitigate and prevent accidents. The findings reveal that speed, cost-effectiveness, and the limited accessibility of certain neighbourhoods to other transport options are key factors driving regular motorbike taxi use. Moreover, strategies for managing accident risks include regulating passenger positions based on gender, perceived age, or physical stature; invoking deities for protection; and passengers’ verbal interactions with drivers to ensure safer behaviour. This research also explores how overloading, a collectively tolerated deviance, is managed to avoid or minimize the impact of accidents. By addressing both risk acceptance and prevention strategies, this study provides new insights into passengers’ social perceptions, which are often overlooked in motorbike taxi research. It expands the understanding of motorbike taxi use in urban Global South transport contexts, particularly in terms of users’ risk management behaviours.
Source: Safety
Language: English
Topic: Traffic and Road Safety
Subfield: Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
OpenAlex ID: W4411452997