Commercial Motorcycle Operations in Tanzania: An Analysis on Youth Livelihood Improvement in Dar es Salaam City

Abstract

The commercial motorcycle industry is growing rapidly in many developing countries, including Tanzania, where there are 589,936 registered commercial motorcycle taxis, with approximately 35,000 operating in Dar es Salaam City. While existing literature explores the role of the motorcycle business in creating employment opportunities in Africa and Tanzania, there is a lack of substantial evidence regarding its contribution to the livelihoods of young operators in Dar es Salaam. To bridge this gap, this study engaged 138 participants from five municipalities in the Dar es Salaam Region, utilizing a mixed research approach with data collected through structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with IBM SPSS Statistics (24), presented in tabular format, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. The study found that motorcycle business significantly contributed to youth's livelihood and had multiplier effects. It recommends empowering youth to own motorcycles and conducting more research on the business's contribution to the GDP. The study also suggests empowering females to engage in business operations since the business is mainly dominated by male.