Economic Restructuring and Transportation Platform Workers in Dhaka,Bangladesh: A Question of Employment and Livelihood Vulnerabilities

Abstract

The “information economy” is a mixed blessing, since it widens social division between workers who possess digital abilities and those who do not. Urban labor markets in cities, particularly in the Global South, have greatly been transformed due to the growing expansion of app-based transportation platforms. As existing studies rely largely on qualitative studies, hence, using a quantitative method, this paper examined how the app-based transportation system in Dhaka, Bangladesh, affected the employment and livelihoods of traditional transport workers. This study explored that app-based transportation platforms attract numerous digitally savvy professionals; thus, using survey data from 480 respondents, it is shown that traditional and digitally illiterate transport workers and their earnings have become vulnerable in Dhaka city. This paper offers recommendations for developing and implementing policies to enhance digital skills that will effectively include them in the platform economy, thereby reducing their employment and livelihood vulnerabilities and safeguarding their rights within the information economy.