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Towards a geography of informal transport: Mobility, infrastructure and urban sustainability from the back of a motorbike
Author(s) -
Evans James,
O'Brien Jennifer,
Ch Ng Beatrice
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
transactions of the institute of british geographers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.196
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1475-5661
pISSN - 0020-2754
DOI - 10.1111/tran.12239
Subject(s) - taxis , sustainability , informal sector , capital (architecture) , business , economic growth , economic geography , geography , economics , transport engineering , engineering , ecology , archaeology , biology
Informal transport is vital to billions of people living in rapidly growing cities in the Global South, yet is increasingly marginalised as governments legislate against modes of transport that do not conform to ideals of the “modern city.” Using an innovative combination of GPS and qualitative methods, this paper investigates how the estimated 145,000 boda‐boda motorcycle taxis in Kampala, the rapidly growing capital of Uganda, provide mobility and income for its inhabitants. While careful not to over‐romanticise the informality of African cities, we argue that there is a pressing need to understand the contribution that uniquely adapted local transport solutions like motorcycle taxis make to the sustainability of the planet's most rapidly growing cities. The paper shows how mobile methods reveal the ways in which informal transport weaves the city and the lives of its residents together, and proposes a research agenda to make informal urban transport and the kinds of mobility it enables more visible within debates concerning the future of cities.