Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Motorcycle Purchase in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

The impacts of COVID-19 on the transportation system have received attention from researchers all over the world. Initial findings reveal that patronage of public transport has gone down, while the use of active transport has increased in general. To the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on the pandemic’s effects on motorcycle mode, let alone in the context of an Asian city. We attempted to fill this void in literature by investigating if COVID-19 has influenced people to purchase motorcycles and determining the factors driving their intentions. The study is based on an online survey of 368 people in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The study found that around 46% of the respondents were expected to increase travel by motorcycle during the post-lockdown period. About 21% of the respondents were also expected to do the opposite. Around 31% of the respondents planned to purchase a motorcycle by August 2021, and the results indicated that the pandemic has influenced more people to purchase motorcycles compared to the pre-pandemic period. The study further identified factors that influenced the respondents’ plan for purchasing a motorcycle during the post-lockdown period applying the binary logistic regression. Based on the findings of the study, policy measures were proposed for controlling the growth of motorcycle numbers and increasing the use of active transport modes as its alternative, and consequently, helping to achieve sustainable transportation outcomes.

Impact of COVID-19 on mode choice behavior: A case study for Dhaka, Bangladesh

“…4(b) , the rating of walking as a reliable mode of discretionary travel has rocketed during this pandemic along with on-demand vehicles, particularly bike-hailing services, because of being the fastest mode of transportation ( IDLC, 2017 ). The availability of the on-demand vehicles also jumped in this pandemic as the purchase of motorcycles has soared ( Zafri et al, 2021a ) and many people in Bangladesh are selecting to become riders to earn their living ( IDLC, 2017 ). However, respondents do not feel on-demand vehicles as a cost-effective mode for discretionary activities.…”

“…Their study was focused on selected areas covering the under-construction Metro Rail Transit Line-1 route ( Rahman et al, 2020a ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zafri et al, 2021a , Zafri et al, 2021b explored the impact of the pandemic on active travel mode choice using MNL ( Zafri et al, 2021b ). Based on our searching attempts for research articles through several academic sources (Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) with a similar focus to ours, we can mention that no similar research was conducted on the transportation mode users of Dhaka city to date.…”

COVID-19 and Modal Shift towards Motorized Two-wheelers in Dhaka, Bangladesh

“…These data indicate the possible personal use rather than their use for ridehailing business. Also, in Dhaka, the capital city, an increased interest in purchasing motorized two-wheelers for personal use was observed during the first pandemic wave in 2020 (Zafri et al 2021). However, the underlying reasons behind this modal shift, along with the implications of this shift, are inadequately understood.…”

Service Quality Dimensions (SERVQUAL) and Customer Satisfaction towards Motor Ride-Sharing Services: Evidence from Bangladesh

“…In contrast, the gross monthly income of a ride-share car owner is around BDT 60,000 (B. Li, Krushinsky, Reijers, & Van Woensel, 2014;Zafri, Khan, Jamal, & Alam, 2021). A recent World Bank study also found Dhaka's average speed is between 7.0 and 8.0 km/h.…”