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

Abstract

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.