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1. RGS-IBG, Annual International Conference 2014
SESSION: MOBILITIES AND LIVELIHOODS IN DEVELOPING URBAN CONTEXTS
MOTORBIKE TAXI OPERATORS
AND LIVELIHOOD ISSUES IN LOME (TOGO)
Lourdes DIAZ OLVERA*, Assogba GUÉZÉRÉ**, Didier PLAT*, Pascal POCHET*
* University of Lyon ** University of Kara
lourdes.diaz-olvera@entpe.fr guezere1970@yahoo.fr didier.plat@entpe.fr pascal.poche@entpe.fr
Laboratoire d’Economie
des Transports
UMR du CNRS n° 5593

2. Lourdes Diaz Olvera, Didier Plat and Pascal Pochet are researchers at the Laboratory of Transport Economics
(Laboratoire d’Economie des Transports – LET) of the University of Lyon, France. Their research is mainly devoted to
urban transport issues in sub-Saharan Africa, such as the determinants of daily mobility, the links between mobility,
poverty and social inequalities, and the organisation and operating conditions of public transport supply.
Assogba Guézéré is lecturer at the Department of Geography of the University of Kara, Togo. His PhD thesis is focused
on the motorbike taxi system of Lomé (Togo) and his research concerns urban transport and mobility, and urban
dynamics and planning.
Selection of bibliographical references :
o Diaz Olvera L., Plat D., Pochet P. (2003). "Transportation conditions and access to services in a context of urban sprawl and
deregulation. The case of Dar es Salaam." Transport Policy. Transport and Social Exclusion 10: 287-298.
o Diaz Olvera L., Plat D., Pochet P. (2010). Towards a two-tired city? In Calas B., From Dar es Salaam to Bongoland. Urban mutations in
Tanzania. Dar es Salaam-Nairobi, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd - IFRA: 261-278.
o Diaz Olvera L., Plat D., Pochet P. (2010). Urban transport: following the course of free enterprise. In Calas B., From Dar es Salaam to
Bongoland. Urban mutations in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam-Nairobi, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd - IFRA: 243-260.
o Diaz Olvera L., Plat D., Pochet P., Sahabana M. (2012). "Motorbike taxis in the "transport crisis" of West and Central African cities."
EchoGéo 20, 15 p. http://echogeo.revues.org/13080
o Diaz Olvera L., Plat D., Pochet P. (2013). "The puzzle of mobility and access to the city in Sub-Saharan Africa." Journal of Transport
Geography 32: 56-64.
o Guézéré A. (2008). "Oléyia" (taxi moto): Acteurs et usager d'un mode de transport artisanal récent à Lomé. Thèse de Doctorat de
Géographie urbaine, Université de Lomé, Lomé, 455 p.
o Guézéré A. (2012). “Territoires des taxis-motos à Lomé : de la pratique quotidienne à la recomposition des espaces urbains et des liens
sociaux ». Géographie, économie, société 14: 53-72.
o Guézéré A., (2013). “Deux roues motorisées et étalement urbain à Lomé, quel lien avec la théorie des « trois âges » de la ville?". Norois
226: 41-62.
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3. Abstract
Motorbike taxis, a major mode of public transport in many sub-Saharan Africa cities,
have many-sided effects on mobility and the living conditions of urban populations.
On the one hand, they improve accessibility and contribute to daily mobility. On the
other hand, motorbike taxis generate private costs (household budget) and social and
environmental costs (road accidents, pollution). But motorbike taxis also represent a
source of livelihood for male city dwellers who become drivers.
Through the case study of Lomé (Togo), the aim of this paper is to analyse the
opportunities offered by the motorbike system to ensure a livelihood and a way out of
poverty. Who becomes motorbike taxi driver and why? What are their working
conditions? This work is part of a larger empirical research on the motorbike taxi
system in Lomé which concerns both motorbike taxi demand (users) and provision
(operators). Data concerning motorbike taxi operators was collected in 2012 through a
questionnaire survey (147 operators) and semi-structured interviews (16 drivers and
vehicle owners).
The analyses show that drivers are on average young adults with some education and
the majority is migrant. They earn more than the minimum wage for salaried people
but work is intense and risks are significant. Despite the lack of other job
opportunities, the majority of motorbike taxi drivers consider their job as temporary
or occasional and only one driver out of five expects to continue in the job.
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4. Presentation Outline
1. Context
2. Objective and empirical material
3. Results
a. The actors
b. The operating conditions
c. Life behind and life ahead
4. Conclusion
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5. Contexte
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• Urban sprawl and poverty
Need of access to urban activities and resources
Need of motorised transport
• Low rate of personal vehicles
• The need of public transport
Major transport projects… but still very small vehicles
Motorbike taxis (oléyia, zémidjan, zém) in Lomé:
Since 1992
80% of PT trips
~ 66 000 (1996) ~ 90 000
1 oléyia: ~ 12-15 inhabitants

6. Objective and Empirical Material
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• Does the job as motorbike-taxi driver ensure a livelihood and a
way out of poverty?
Who are the motorbike-taxi drivers?
How much do they earn?
What are their working conditions?
What are the opportunities for professional development?
• Empirical material
Questionnaire survey: 147 motorbike-taxi drivers, Lomé conurbation (2012)
Major trip generators and public transport exchange stations
Socio-demographic profile, operating conditions (compliance with regulations,
working time, road accidents, security, health, etc.), vehicle, earnings (turnover,
operating costs), professional prospects
Semi-structured interviews (19) of stakeholders (vehicle drivers and owners,
authorities, trade union official)
Questionnaire survey of 1220 users of public transport (2011)

7. Results: a. The actors (1/3)
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Operators: four categories of actors
Owner-driver
(self-employed)
58%
Owner-investor
(side activity)
“Work and Pay” driver
(hire purchase)
26%
Other driver
(other hire contract)
16%

8. Results - a. The actors (2/3)
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Socio-demographic characteristics
Different populations

9. Results - a. The actors (3/3)
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When business goes well
An income generating activity, above all for the “investors”!

10. Results - b. The operating conditions (1/3)
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On the road
“Owner-driver”: businesslike approach of the job

11. Results - b. The operating conditions (2/3)
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Outside the frame
Many hours on the road but they ignore the regulations

12. Results - b. The operating conditions (3/3)
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Occupational hazards
A risky job

13. Results - c. Life behind and life ahead
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14. Conclusion
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Motorbike taxi: A means of livelihood but…
1. Drivers and investors: two separate camps
Aim of the activity, social and financial assets
2. A job (more or less) open to (almost) all
Non compliance with regulations
3. A (more or less) gainful job… but hard and risky
Intense work, uncertainties (illness, confiscation of vehicle, breakdowns, etc.)
4. An emergency solution, a temporary second best option
Income, social insertion
5. Hardly a long-lasting job… because the oléyia is not a “real” job
Only 1/5 will continue
“Because it is not normal to learn a job which we do not
practise and it is [a] zémidjan that we drive. ”
(Carpenter, 26 years old)

15. MOTORBIKE TAXI OPERATORS
15
AND
LIVELIHOOD ISSUES IN LOME
Thanks for your attention!
Lourdes Diaz Olvera lourdes.diaz-olvera@entpe.fr
Assogba Guézéré guezere1970@yahoo.fr
Didier Plat didier.plat@entpe.fr
Pascal Pochet pascal.pochet@entpe.fr