Identification of factors to improve the productivity and working conditions of motorcycle couriers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract

Motorcycles are used for fast deliveries, especially in developing countries. In Brazil, despite legal regulation of motorcycle courier activity, a significant proportion of informal workers are engaged in this area of work. This paper identifies factors to improve the productivity of motorcycle couriers, measured by the number of deliveries by day. Data were obtained from a web-based survey with motorcycle couriers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We estimated a causal model to evaluate the influence and the effects of the variables age, gender, delivery fee, and driver licence time in the productivity of the motorcycle couriers. The results of the causal model were confirmed based on the criteria of admissibility, minimax, and robustness. Results indicated the motorcycle couriers deliver documents and prepared food, driving more than 100 km and working over eight hours per day. The productivity of motorcycle couriers is negatively influenced by delivery fees, indicating that a fee delivery policy could have a positive impact on the deliveries and, consequently, on the number of motorcycle couriers. Training in financial and career management could improve the productivity of motorcycle couriers.