Auto-rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw with three wheels, and it has many different names in different parts of the world. Locally, it is well known, and hereafter we use the term, “Bajaj”, which was introduced into the Somali market in 2013 by a local business company. Later, several businesses joined the industry and imported several models, including RE, TVs, and Piaggio. These models of Bajaj are primarily imported from India and China with the preference of the former. At first, very few people used the Bajaj as a means of transport due to its expensiveness and the availability of other transport services. However, other transport options were driven out of the market slowly due to Bajaj taking up a large portion of the market demand, and the consequence of the roadblocks in Mogadishu, which hindered the movement of public transport cars within the town. This has caused many transport vehicles, locally known as “BL” to get out of the market, selling their cars and joining the new market. Consequently, people in Mogadishu did not have many options to choose from, and Bajaj became the most practical transport option to use as it provides last-mile logistics, in other words, it picks you up from one door to another without stopping in between.
According to industry experts, the Bajaj number imported since 2013 is estimated to be more than 100,000 while the active registered Bajaj operating in Mogadishu as a public means of transport is between 40 – 50,000. As per this information, it is obvious that around more than 50,000 households use this industry as a livelihood source and rely on it to generate income. In this regard, the article aims to highlight how Bajaj has transformed the public transportation system of Mogadishu, Benadir region, to present the socio-economic and logistical challenges that it has brought up and to provide recommendations to policymakers to regulate the industry properly.
This piece is structured in three parts. The first part discusses the transformation process of Bajaj through zooming in on the logistical aspects of changing the industry and the economic opportunities that it has created for many youth members, households and the government. The second part focuses on the several risks, whether socio-economic and logistics, that Bajaj imposes. Finally, the authors give their way forward to address the risks and lessen their impact to take advantage of the benefits of the industry and innovate it to ensure its sustainability.
- Transformation of Public transport in Mogadishu
Since its introduction into the market, without a doubt, Bajaj has transformed public transport in Mogadishu in many ways. But the focus of this piece will be the logistical dimension and the economic opportunities created by Bajaj as discussed below.
- Logistical advancements
Without a doubt, Bajaj has transformed the public transport of the country, particularly Mogadishu. People in Mogadishu had the “BL” vehicles, which are on the main roads, and they usually take customers from the main roads and drop them off. Then people had to walk from/to their places. Then Bajaj came, which applied the concept of “Last Mile”, which is described as the last leg of a journey or the movement of people and goods from a point of origin to a final destination. The Bajaj was completely different from other means of transport in both picking up customers and dropping them off at their doorstep. This has allowed many customers, who relied on the vans system before, to switch to the Bajaj. The majority of these customers are students and other businesspeople who usually commute to their study or work places on a daily basis, and they often have an oral agreement with the Bajaj drivers to be picked at a specific place and time, paying a monthly fee to receive that particular service. In addition, BL used to stop in different locations to pick up/drop off customers during its journey from one point to another, which has increased the travel time within the town. but with Bajaj, it was associated with easy movement, and customers were able to get to their destination way less than the time it takes vans.
Apart from the last mile, Bajaj has gained a massive advantage over other transport means through its 24/7 availability, which means customers can get Bajaj at any moment in time to commute within the town. Before Bajaj came to the market, the Majority of Vans drivers used to work until 6 pm, and the movement of people in Mogadishu often stopped after that unless one drove their car. At first, when Bajaj joined the transport business, this service was not available for customers due to few drivers at the time, but as the market grew and new drivers joined it, there is was a need to extended the services to 24/7 to satisfy the demand at night and to make more money as most of the drivers were leasers, who had to pay $10-15 dollars per day to their Bajaj owners. This 24/7 availability has given an economic edge to Bajaj drivers over the other transport means, and people are willing to pay more money to get this service.
- Economic Opportunities
According to the Somali Human Development report (2012) issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Somalis under 30 constitute 70 percent of the population, and the unemployment rate for youth is among the highest in the world, at 67% percent among all 14-29-year-olds (UNDP, 2012). Unemployment among youth was a major challenge that mainly contributed to young Somalis’ vulnerability to illegal migration (Tahrib), and violent crimes. A study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the nexus between youth unemployment and migration found that low education and unemployment drive irregular migration. The unemployment was affecting both the uneducated and educated youths with the effect being felt by the former. This has allowed many youth members to work in the Bajaj sector and make a living. It is obvious that Bajaj has changed the landscape for youth and created many job opportunities for thousands for youths to earn daily income and to support their families. As a result, Bajaj has not only increased the purchasing power of the youths but also contributed to the reduction of youth migration from Mogadishu. Even though there is no official figure regarding the number of youths that migrated before and after, it is evident that many youth members stayed in Mogadishu due to the opportunities they have received from driving Bajaj.
Bajaj is also contributing to the tax revenue of the country, particularly the BRA, as each pays $15 per month.
- Challenges of Bajaj
Even though Bajaj has brought some positive changes to the public transport market, its socio-economic and logistical challenges cannot be ignored. Those risks are discussed below, and there is a call for action to improve the current status quota to sustain the industry without foregoing the economic and logistical advantages of this market.
- Logistical challenges
From a logistics perspective, the major challenge that Bajaj poses is the congestion and traffic jams. There are several reasons behind this traffic jam within the town. First, the number of Bajaj motors on the road are increasing rapidly as more are imported abroad and new drivers join the market to reap the benefits. As a result, more Bajaj are on the road at the moment than cars. Secondly, the majority of drivers receive an informal short time training, concerning how to turn the engine on/off and to control the steering wheel, from friends, and they are unaware of the traffic rules they are supposed to observe. Due to lack of such basic technical training, drivers use any means necessary to reach their destination with no regard to the traffic rules on the street, causing more violations. Then, the more drivers violating the traffic rules, the more congestion and traffic jams.
This congestion and traffic jam is felt within the town, and people and businesses are experiencing its effects. At an individual level, workforces are spending more minutes on the road stuck in traffic jams to reach their destination, and in turn, the Bajaj drivers are not making a lot of money as they used to because of the limited number of customers they can serve per day as the movement becomes slow. At a business level, companies are waiting for days to receive their goods from the port, meaning that demand is not met on time. Consequently, at individual and businesses levels, time and money are wasted due to unnecessary congestion and traffic jams caused by the more Bajaj on the road.
- Economic Reduction
Economically, the BL, which was the cheaper public transport, is being driven away from the market. Many households are forced to use the Bajaj, which is very expensive compared to the other modes of transport. As much as Bajaj is creating more job opportunities for the youth and providing many households a source of income, its negative effect is also felt by many other households on the other side. Many households are spending more than they did before to commute daily. For instance, families, using the BL mode of transport, with an income of $500 used to pay monthly transport costs of about 10% or $50 of their income. But with Bajaj, it is more likely that the figure would increase 3 times, making 30% or a total of $150 of their income to be spent on transport. In this regard, it is obvious that many households are feeling the negative economic impact of Bajaj taking over the market from the Buses. This has reduced drastically the purchasing power and savings of many households which in turn contributes to the country’s economic decline. There is a need to do research on the economic impact of this mode of transport on these households and to provide evidence based recommendations to policy makers.
- Social Risks
Socially, Bajaj recently became an instrument to commit crimes against innocent people in Mogadishu. Several criminal activities such as robbery and kidnapping were done using unlicensed Bajaj. There is also a new trend of stealing the Bajaj and using its parts or removing the previous registration and fixing a new one. Even though these are a few incidents committed using the Bajaj, if it is not addressed, the likelihood of these criminal activities increasing is very high. Then Bajaj will be contributing to the crimes in the town, and it will impact the wider good of Bajaj drivers and owners.
- Conclusion and Recommendation
In conclusion, it is without a doubt that Bajaj has transformed the public transport in Mogadishu, introducing the last mile transport to pick/drop customers from their homes to their final destinations and providing customers 24/7 transport services with a price higher than they paid for the BL mode of transport. Unfortunately, as time went by, it came with its own socio-economic and logistical challenges of negatively impacting the purchasing power and savings of households as well as causing congestion and traffic jams that affect the country’s economy.
To address these challenges, the authors provide the following recommendation to policymakers to reduce the risks.
- Limit the importation of Bajaj for some time
- Introduce formal and mandatory training on driving Bajaj and basic safety and traffic rules
- Introduce an alternate working modality policy for different models/colors of Bajaj to operate on different days of the week to reduce the congestion and traffic jams within the town
Addressing these issues properly and regulating the Bajaj will be the first step to reduce the negative socio-economic and logistical implications in the short term. But in the long run, it is paramount to think of and introduce a more sustainable, innovative and affordable mode of transport from the private or public sectors.
Abdirizak Osman Mohamud & Ahmed Mohamed Nur, researchers and lecturers at SIMAD University
One Response
I read this article wholley, and it is very useful and beneficial. My main complaint about bajaj is in terms of economical aspects. Sometimes bajaj is the only convenient transportation that you can satisfy because it keeps your time than others, but it also expensive and can destroy your monthly income. In my suggestion we need an economic policy that can limit the transportation fee of the bajajs to increase the well-being of the society.