Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon

Cities in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa have witnessed a significant growth in the commercial motorbike sector, as the urban poor consider it a means of livelihood security. However, the debate on whether this sector contributes to poverty reduction remains inconclusive. In the context of Cameroo...

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Main Authors: Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi, Kingsley Ndashi Agyingi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2022-01-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.2014043
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author Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
Kingsley Ndashi Agyingi
author_facet Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
Kingsley Ndashi Agyingi
author_sort Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
collection DOAJ
description Cities in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa have witnessed a significant growth in the commercial motorbike sector, as the urban poor consider it a means of livelihood security. However, the debate on whether this sector contributes to poverty reduction remains inconclusive. In the context of Cameroon, knowledge gaps exist with regard to the role of commercial motorbikes in poverty reduction. Taking the case of Bamenda, a primate city par excellence which has witnessed a steady growth in the sector, this paper: (i)analyzes the trends and drivers in the growth of commercial motorbike transport, (ii) identifies the determinants of actor’s engagement in the commercial motorbike transport, (iii) evaluates its contribution in reducing poverty. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, 150 male bike riders, drawn from 3 Municipalities were randomly sampled. This was complemented by field observations and expert interviews. The simple linear regression model attributed a 65.8% increase in the growth of the commercial motorbike sector to unemployment (R2 = 0.658). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (0.768) was observed between the level of education and actor’s involvement in the motorbike sector, while a positive correlation was established between the growth of the commercial motorbike sector and poverty reduction (0.479). Despite signals of a positive contribution, we observed that the synergistic interactions between the administrators of the sector and the bike riders would improve sector coordination and enhance the financial performance of the sector. This paper contributes to theoretically position the commercial motorbike sector as a potential contributor to urban poverty reduction.
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spelling doaj.art-3d3ef640beb6400ba8ef21bcaecd45b22022-12-21T17:22:34ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862022-01-018110.1080/23311886.2021.20140432014043Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, CameroonJude Ndzifon Kimengsi0Kingsley Ndashi Agyingi1The University of BamendaThe University of BamendaCities in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa have witnessed a significant growth in the commercial motorbike sector, as the urban poor consider it a means of livelihood security. However, the debate on whether this sector contributes to poverty reduction remains inconclusive. In the context of Cameroon, knowledge gaps exist with regard to the role of commercial motorbikes in poverty reduction. Taking the case of Bamenda, a primate city par excellence which has witnessed a steady growth in the sector, this paper: (i)analyzes the trends and drivers in the growth of commercial motorbike transport, (ii) identifies the determinants of actor’s engagement in the commercial motorbike transport, (iii) evaluates its contribution in reducing poverty. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, 150 male bike riders, drawn from 3 Municipalities were randomly sampled. This was complemented by field observations and expert interviews. The simple linear regression model attributed a 65.8% increase in the growth of the commercial motorbike sector to unemployment (R2 = 0.658). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (0.768) was observed between the level of education and actor’s involvement in the motorbike sector, while a positive correlation was established between the growth of the commercial motorbike sector and poverty reduction (0.479). Despite signals of a positive contribution, we observed that the synergistic interactions between the administrators of the sector and the bike riders would improve sector coordination and enhance the financial performance of the sector. This paper contributes to theoretically position the commercial motorbike sector as a potential contributor to urban poverty reduction.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.2014043motor bikedeterminantsunemploymentpovertybamenda
spellingShingle Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
Kingsley Ndashi Agyingi
Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
Cogent Social Sciences
motor bike
determinants
unemployment
poverty
bamenda
title Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
title_full Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
title_fullStr Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
title_full_unstemmed Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
title_short Commercial Motor Bike Transport and Poverty Reduction in the Bamenda Urban Space, Cameroon
title_sort commercial motor bike transport and poverty reduction in the bamenda urban space cameroon
topic motor bike
determinants
unemployment
poverty
bamenda
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.2014043
work_keys_str_mv AT judendzifonkimengsi commercialmotorbiketransportandpovertyreductioninthebamendaurbanspacecameroon
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