Speed traps: on the turbulent logics of the platformed motorcycle

Richard Mallett

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Motorcycle-taxis are one of the fastest ways to get around Kampala, Uganda, but they are also the most dangerous. Over the past decade, digital ride-hailing platforms have emerged on the city’s streets as a self-styled solution to dangerous working conditions and low earnings in the sector, promising a dual transformation of both livelihoods and safety standards. In this article, I draw on an analysis of speed and the forces that shape it to critically explore the ways in which concerted safety initiatives combine with the precarious logics of the platform economy to produce what I term a “speed trap” – a frenetic, incoherent set of circumstances that push and pull informal transport workers in different directions by compelling slowness and recklessness at the same time. As a result, ride-hailing emerges as a risky vehicle for road safety reform and an ambiguous addition to (already) high-risk urban infrastructure.

Keywords: motorcycle taxis; platforms; ride-hailing; speed; Kampala; Motorcycle taxis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8 pages
Date: 2025-04-02
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Published in Urban Geography, 2, April, 2025. ISSN: 0272-3638

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:127625

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