Investigating the increasing demand and formal regulation of motorcycle taxis in Ghana

Abstract

The demand for motorcycle taxis has seen a significant increase in Ghana in the last decade. In light of an existing unimplemented ban, several questions arise on the prospects of strong formal regulation and policy implementation. However, the lack of succinct research data on motorcycle taxi regulation from users' perspectives leaves a gap in policy formulation and makes it difficult for effective decision-making. In this study, a users' perspective approach is adopted to identify plausible factors that may inform policy direction for motorcycle taxi regulation in Ghana. Overall, the views of 1489 motorcycle taxi users were sampled. The analyses comprised correlations, multiple correspondence analysis, chi-square tests, and ordinal logistic regression. The results showed that 78% of the respondents support formal regulation but decentralized to the local authorities. Consequently, 70% of the respondents confirmed continuous use intentions. It is found that users' geographical location and occupations are significantly associated with continuous use intentions. Besides, nine influencing factors were confirmed to have a significant positive association with continuous use intentions. However, respondents' perceived safety of motorcycle taxis has a significant negative association with both support for regulation and continuous use intention. This study provides a novel framework, that is the Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses Framework (DPSIR), for the case of motorcycle taxi regulation in Ghana. The findings are relevant for transport policy and urban planning in Ghana and other countries of sub-Saharan Africa.