Relationships between paratransit passenger satisfaction and driver labour conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Labour conditions for paratransit workers in Sub-Saharan African cities are typically exploitative, precarious, and stressful. These conditions inevitably contribute to dangerous driving behaviour and poor quality-of-service. The aim of this paper is to explore whether improving driver labour conditions can improve quality-of-service, from a passenger perspective. It investigates the nature and strength of relationships between paratransit driver labour relations and quality-of-service. Data from a (n = 7407) paratransit passenger survey, administered in five case cities (Accra, Cape Town, Freetown, Kumasi, and Maputo), takes the form of ordinal Likert scale ratings of paratransit service attributes. Descriptive statistical analysis found that drivers remunerated through a daily ‘target’ system without representation in collective industry organisations, provide less satisfactory services than drivers remunerated through variations of ‘commission’ and part-salary systems with collective representation. An ordinal logistic regression model estimated that the odds of passengers being more satisfied (instead of very dissatisfied) with the overall quality-of-service provided by a driver remunerated under a part-salary and ‘commission’ system, are 3.99 and 2.11 times that of service provided by driver remunerated under a ‘target system’, respectively. It is concluded that better treated drivers provide better quality services. Paratransit improvement strategies should therefore include interventions that improve vehicle crew working conditions and labour relations.