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Invisible Journeys: Understanding the Transport Mobility Challenges of Urban Domestic Workers

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  • Babra Duri

    (Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Africa), University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa)

Abstract

Domestic workers represent an essential yet invisible workforce within urban economies, especially in developing countries. Predominantly women in low-income, single-headed households, they often work informally and rely on buses or minibus taxis for suburb-to-suburb travel. Despite their contributions, their transport needs are overlooked in traditional planning, which prioritises CBD-centric routes over the suburb-to-suburb journeys that define their invisible commute. The purpose of this study is to examine the transport mobility patterns of live-out domestic workers in urban areas, focusing on Centurion, one of the affluent neighbourhoods in the Metropolitan City of Tshwane, South Africa. To assess the transport challenges faced by domestic workers during their commutes, a Likert scale was utilised. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics facilitated by the SPSS software package to identify key trends and patterns in the responses. The key challenges of domestic workers are high transport costs, lack of access to affordable transport modes like rail and long commute times. Minibus taxi is the most commonly used mode accommodating both standard and non-standard working hours. The study also found that most of the domestic workers working in Centurion are migrant workers. To reduce the need to travel to work, mixed-income developments, and inclusionary housing are some of the concepts that can be adopted in affluent suburbs like Centurion. These two concepts not only address the need to travel to work but also spatial inequality and promotion of social integration whereby affordable housing are created within higher income areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Babra Duri, 2025. "Invisible Journeys: Understanding the Transport Mobility Challenges of Urban Domestic Workers," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:4:p:224-:d:1627295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dinkelman, Taryn & Ranchhod, Vimal, 2012. "Evidence on the impact of minimum wage laws in an informal sector: Domestic workers in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 27-45.
    2. Ankita Sil & Subeh Chowdhury & Roselle Thoreau, 2023. "Moving towards an inclusive public transport system for women in the South and Southeast Asian region," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(6), pages 1144-1164, November.
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