Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Nov 2020)
Motoboys in São Paulo, Brazil: Precarious work, conflicts and fatal traffic accidents by motorcycle
Abstract
The professional activity of “motoboys” (motorcycle couriers), which is based on fast motorcycle delivery, is a relatively recent phenomenon in the urban landscape of the city of São Paulo. Due to their rapid growth, coupled with the dynamics of their professional activity in São Paulo traffic, “motoboys” have become targets for the most diverse traffic conflicts and prejudice in the city of São Paulo. The purpose of this article is to understand the emergence and the dynamics of this professional activity as a consequence and a necessity of the city of São Paulo. This professional activity partially reveals the socio-spatial transformations that took place in São Paulo in the transition from the 20th to the 21st century, which are marked by the new condition of the city, based on the need for rapid circulation in a congested urban space, as well as on the world of work, which resulted in increased unemployment and precarious employment relationships for “motoboys.” These combined factors increase the risk of fatal traffic accidents involving “motoboys” in the city of São Paulo.
