Transport Workers’ Perspective on Indigenous Transport and Climate Change Adaptation

Abstract

This paper explores the potential role of indigenous transport for increasing the adaptive capacity of selected cities in developing Asia. Indigenous transport drivers were surveyed face-to-face in Bandung, Indonesia, and in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to gain an understanding of how transport workers, specifically drivers–operators, characterize transport modes considered as indigenous and perceive their potential role in increasing the adaptive capacity of these cities. The main finding was that indigenous transport modes in the two cities in the case study had evolved to fit a niche market influenced by differing urban scales and divergent demographic and geographic characteristics. Thus, the experiences and the perceptions of transport workers on indigenous transport were highly contextualized in relation to service and route characteristics. Operating conditions for drivers were indicative of the regulatory status of indigenous transport modes in the informal landscape. This analysis contributes to an increased understanding of the role and the operation of indigenous transport modes within the transport system. The analysis also contributes policy-relevant insights to improve an understanding of the potential role of indigenous transport in climate change adaptation, as well as to increase awareness and to anticipate a shift to a more environmentally sustainable transport mode.