Authors
Mohamed Ahmed Kunle, Mohamed Jama Farah, and Abdi /hakim Ahmed Mohamed
Abstract
In Somaliland Auto-rickshaw(Bajaj) became a very popular transportation in all main cities, and now it is the choice of many citizens when it comes to speed and reaching destinations in time; however, the Burao city community is not satisfied with the service provided by Auto-rickshaw sector, and most of the community complain is about the drivers of Bajaj. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the positive and negative effects of Auto-rickshaws on Burao residents. This study was survey research, and a nonprobability sampling method was used to select participants from seven villages in Burao ( sha,ab-ka, Mohamed Ali, Plaza, Hodan Kaylo, Ukubo, German, and Sailada). A total of 175 questionnaires were distributed among Auto-rickshaw drivers, and another 18 participants were interviewed (14 Auto-rickshaw passengers, 3 hospital directors, and 1 traffic police officer). The study revealed that 100 % of Bajaj drivers are males; furthermore, the study identified that drivers generate an average gross income of Sl.sh 145,885 per day, but the per-day average net income was Sl.sh 48,274. The type of Auto-rickshaw used In Burao was designed to take 3 passengers at a time; however, according to this study, 64% of the Auto-rickshaw drivers carry 4 persons per trip, 35% carry 5 persons per trip and only 1% of the drivers carry 3 persons per trip. Furthermore, the study found that the sector has different disadvantages such as regular accidents, overspeeding, overloading, hijacking passengers, and Lack of respect for passengers and the community. On the contrary, the Bajaj sector has several advantages like quick and regular service, income generation, and cheap fare for the Burao community. Finally, this study recommends that the Ministry of motor vehicles and Transportation train Bajaj drivers in driving skills, and that traffic police set a mechanism to ensure the safety of Bajaj passengers.
Keywords: Auto-Rickshaw,Bajaj
