Clusters of Bicycle Taxi Operators and their Main Service Operation Patterns: Case Study of Quelimane, Mozambique

Abstract

Bicycle taxi is a vital means of informal public transport service in most Sub-Saharan African cities, and for this reason, understanding who operates this service, and how they operate could help define initiatives to promote this service. This study considered clusters of bicycle taxi operators and their main service operation patterns. A survey was conducted among 105 regular bicycle taxi operators in Quelimane, Mozambique. Twostep cluster analysis identified homogeneous groups of bicycle taxi operators based on six socio-economic factors (age, income, education, household composition, bicycle ownership, and residence location).  A Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare pairs of clusters of bicycle taxi operators regarding a set of taxi services operation variables, such as the number of passengers carried daily, daily revenues, and service hours. Four clusters of bicycle taxi operators were identified which are, less-educated operators from large households (C1), educated migrants (C2), less-educated bicycle renters (C3), and young cyclists from small households (C4). When comparing differences in service operation patterns per cluster of bicycle taxi operators, the study showed that people in C1 produced fewer bicycle taxi trips than those in C2 and C4. For daily earnings, people in C2 earn more than those in C1 and C3.  For service hours, individuals in C2 cycle long service hours when compared to those in C1, which could be harmful to their health.  The result of this study could reorient bicycle taxi service promotional policies to make the service more sustainable.