This paper draws on ethnographic research conducted 2019–2022 in three quite diverse city regions – Abuja, Cape Town and Tunis – to understand women’s lived experiences of work in the road transport sector. The strength of connection between male identity and motor-mobility in Africa is ubiquitous and has rarely been questioned by transport sector actors. Women are still largely absent from the story, constrained at least partly by hegemonic norms of femininity and an ‘affective atmosphere’ that deters female entry. However, there are occasional cases across Africa where women have dared to disrupt this masculinist enterprise, either as employees or entrepreneurs.
This study explores and compares women transport workers’ everyday experiences, drawing principally on in-depth interviews with those in customer-facing roles (taxi and bus drivers, bus conductors). Relevant public sector organisations and major transport employers were also consulted, while focus groups with community groups of men and women explored their attitudes to women employed as transport workers, and with school-girls investigated their career aspirations and views regarding employment in the sector. A final section looks to the future, post-COVID-19. Although new opportunities occasionally emerge for women, they need much more support, not only in terms of skills training, but also through flexible working opportunities, union recognition and action, microfinance and financial management training. This support is essential in order to expand the visibility of women transport workers and thus make the wider transport milieu less overwhelmingly male and more welcoming to women transport users.
In much of rural Madagascar – where over 60 percent of the population lives – a lack of access to affordable and reliable transport hinders uptake of health services. Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are essential in health service delivery and have key roles in implementing the country’s strategy to achieve universal health coverage. Despite this though, they do not receive a salary from the government and face the same transport barriers affecting rural communities.
Transaid has been an instrumental programme partner in the establishment of “enterprise box” or eBox initiative, as part of Mahefa Miaraka’s broader integrated approach to address transport-related barriers to accessing healthcare. The eBoxes are bicycle sale and repair micro-enterprises managed by registered cooperatives that aim to overcome some of the transportation barriers face by the local population.
The eBox incentivises the ongoing participation of cooperative members through income-generating activities (IGA) and provides strategic support to other integrated transport activities including providing bicycles to selected CHVs to improve their ability to travel, maintaining local bicycle-ambulances, and increasing transportation options for the local community. The profit generated by the cooperatives also provides support to local health insurance schemes (mutuelles de santé and caisse santé) that reimburse participating community members for medical costs incurred at local health centres.
Click below to read the full technical brief.
The USAID Community Capacity for Health program is an integrated community health program funded by USAID for five years (June 2016- June 2021). The program, Mahefa Miaraka, is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., in partnership with FHI 360, Transaid, and Action Socio-Organization Secours (ASOS), and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.
The eBox initiative follows a social enterprise approach and generates income as a bicycle workshop which sells and repairs second-hand bicycles. The eBoxes were introduced to respond to gaps in the bicycle sales and repairs market, and focus on building local skills amongst community members to ensure a long lasting impact.
This ‘Complete Simplified Manual’ has been developed to provide guidance to all those associated with managing and operating the eBox. It provides information on the roles and responsibilities of those associated with the eBox including the Board of Directors and eBox staff. An abridged version of this manual is also available, which focuses on essential tasks for eBox staff members.
Click below to download the full manuals in Malagasy.
The USAID Community Capacity for Health program is an integrated community health program funded by USAID for five years (June 2016- June 2021). The program, Mahefa Miaraka, is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., in partnership with FHI 360, Transaid, and Action Socio-Organization Secours (ASOS), and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.
The eBox initiative follows a social enterprise approach and generates income as a bicycle workshop which sells and repairs second-hand bicycles. The eBoxes were introduced to respond to gaps in the bicycle sales and repairs market, and focus on building local skills amongst community members to ensure a long lasting impact.
This ‘Complete Simplified Manual’ has been developed to provide guidance to all those associated with managing and operating the eBox. It provides information on the roles and responsibilities of those associated with the eBox including the Board of Directors and eBox staff. An abridged version of this manual is also available, which focuses on essential tasks for eBox staff members.
Click below to download the full manuals.
On 25th August 2020, Transaid hosted a webinar featuring representatives from MAMaZ Against Malaria At Scale (Zambia), First African Bicycle Information Organisation (Uganda), Bikes for the World (USA) and Village Bicycle Project (Sierra Leone).
The panel shared insights and key learnings from experiences of adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic and how these response activities have helped with mobility and access to healthcare, spread of information and livelihoods. The webinar concluded with a Q&A session hosted by Transaid’s Project Manager, Jason Finch.
Watch the webinar recording at this link.
Download the webinar slides by clicking below.
The findings, on which this manual is based, stem from the 2018 DfID-funded research carried out in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya on the use of motorcycle and three-wheeler taxis in rural contexts. A key recommendation, among others, is that motorcycle and three-wheeler taxi riders should belong to a registered association.
This Tanzania-focused manual is intended to offer guidance and advice to motorcycle and three-wheeler associations as well as their members, in an effort to support and facilitate riders to access training, encourage safer riding, and ensure overall efficiency of operations from set up and structure, to customer care and vehicle maintenance.
To read this manual, please click here.
This policy brief is intended to enhance the knowledge and understanding of policy makers and other key stakeholders on the benefits of safe use of motorcycle and three-wheeler taxis in rural contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. A cross-country study was carried out in 2018 in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda investigating the use of motorcycle and three-wheeler taxis in rural areas. This brief presents the key findings of the research as well as key recommendations for decision-makers.
To read this brief, please click below.
Cette étude de cas technique résume l’origine, la méthodologie et les conclusions d’un projet dont l’objectif a été de rassembler des coopératives Ougandaises pour mieux comprendre quelles sont les difficultés rencontrées au niveau du transport et pour concevoir des outils pratiques et des lignes directrices pour gérer ces défis.
Cette étude de cas technique résume l’origine, la méthodologie et les conclusions d’un projet dont l’objectif était de mener une recherche formative sur la gestion de la chaîne logistique par de petits exploitants agricoles et des coopératives en Ethiopie.
Cette étude de cas technique résume l’origine, la méthodologie et les conclusions d’un projet de recherche sur le rôle des associations d’opérateurs de transport dans le façonnement des services de transport en zones rurales en Afrique. Ce projet a comporté une recherche documentaire systématique, des entretiens et un atelier pour les parties concernées.
This final report contains the overall findings of the literature review, interviews and field research undertaken in order to investigate the role of transport operator associations in shaping transport services in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This AFCAP-funded study explored the role of both public and private transport operator associations in influencing issues such as routing, scheduling and fare setting. The research also explored the role the associations play in shaping rural access as well as the influence they have regarding road safety issues and interaction with police, authorities and other relevant actors. It builds on AFCAP’s review of rural transport services. The literature review revealed that there is very little knowledge of how transport operator associations actually work in rural areas and what positive and negative effects they have on the operation of commercially viable rural transport services. The literature review and small field research study enabled some promising
practices to be identified that show potential for replication/scale up, including strengthening associations, supporting the creation of new associations, promoting cooperation between authorities and associations, mentoring schemes for small operators and capacity building opportunities. A number of specific future research areas and opportunities for demonstration projects have also been identified.