IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jworld/v3y2022i3p21-402d858489.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 Burdens on Livelihood Opportunities: A Study of Easy-Bike Drivers in Rangpur City, Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Khan Rubayet Rahaman

    (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada)

  • Bishawjit Mallick

    (Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
    Environmental Development and Risk Management, Faculty of Environmental Science, Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), 01217 Dresden, Germany)

  • Rupkatha Priodarshini

    (International Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh)

  • Woakimul Islam Shakil

    (Independent Researcher, Rangpur 5404, Bangladesh)

  • Md. Zakir Hossain

    (Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh)

Abstract

This research explores the nexus between COVID-19 and the livelihoods of easy-bike (three-wheeler human hauliers) drivers using a case study of Rangpur City, Bangladesh. Although easy-bike has become a prevalent form of paratransit among city-dwellers in medium-sized cities in Bangladesh, many passengers are now avoiding such paratransit to maintain health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has negatively affected easy-bike drivers’ income in many medium-sized cities. To conduct this study, we collected primary data from the field, with the health and safety guidelines recommended by the government of Bangladesh in consideration. The results demonstrate a decreasing number of trips due to government policy changes under the COVID-19 pandemic, influencing people’s earnings associated with this transit system. We summarized the data to capture the attention of policymakers, who may need to introduce any foreseeable action to assist workers of different professions in need of economic assistance in cities outside of the capital city in Bangladesh. Moreover, we suggest the need to consider these urban transport workers as a vulnerable group for livelihood assistance within the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Khan Rubayet Rahaman & Bishawjit Mallick & Rupkatha Priodarshini & Woakimul Islam Shakil & Md. Zakir Hossain, 2022. "COVID-19 Burdens on Livelihood Opportunities: A Study of Easy-Bike Drivers in Rangpur City, Bangladesh," World, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:3:y:2022:i:3:p:21-402:d:858489
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/3/21/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/3/21/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jody Harris & Lutz Depenbusch & Arshad Ahmad Pal & Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair & Srinivasan Ramasamy, 2020. "Food system disruption: initial livelihood and dietary effects of COVID-19 on vegetable producers in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 841-851, August.
    2. Bishawjit Mallick, 2019. "The Nexus between Socio-Ecological System, Livelihood Resilience, and Migration Decisions: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Gregorioa, Glenn B. & Ancog, Rico C., 2020. "Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Agricultural Production in Southeast Asia: Toward Transformative Change in Agricultural Food Systems," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 17(1), June.
    4. Glenn B. Gregorio & Rico C. Ancog, 2020. "Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Agricultural Production in Southeast Asia: Toward Transformative Change in Agricultural Food Systems," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 17(1), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Beck, Matthew J. & Hensher, David A., 2020. "Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel and activities in Australia – The early days under restrictions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 76-93.
    6. Khan Rubayet Rahaman & Md. Sultan Mahmud & Bishawjit Mallick, 2020. "Challenges of Testing COVID-19 Cases in Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-17, September.
    7. Glenn B. Gregorio & Rico C. Ancog, 2020. "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Agriculture Production in Southeast Asia: Reinforcing Transformative Change in Agricultural Food Systems," Policy Paper 2020-1, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dixon, John M. & Weerahewa, Jeevika & Hellin, Jon & Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay & Huang, Jikun & Kumar, Shalander & Das, Anup & Qureshi, Muhammad Ejaz & Krupnik, Timothy J. & Shideed, Kamil & Jat, Mangi L., 2021. "Response and resilience of Asian agrifood systems to COVID-19: An assessment across twenty-five countries and four regional farming and food systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Simeon Bernados & Lanndon Ocampo, 2022. "How Do People Decide on Getting Vaccinated? Evaluating the COVID-19 Vaccination Program through the Lens of Social Capital Theory," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Elena-Sabina Turnea & Ștefan Andrei Neștian & Silviu Mihail Tiță & Ana Iolanda Vodă & Alexandra Luciana Guță, 2020. "Dismissals and Temporary Leaves in Romanian Companies in the Context of Low Demand and Cash Flow Problems during the COVID-19 Economic Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Nawab Khan & Jiliang Ma & Hazem S. Kassem & Rizwan Kazim & Ram L. Ray & Muhammad Ihtisham & Shemei Zhang, 2022. "Rural Farmers’ Cognition and Climate Change Adaptation Impact on Cash Crop Productivity: Evidence from a Recent Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Nesrein M. Hashem & Eman M. Hassanein & Jean-François Hocquette & Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes & Fayrouz A. Ahmed & Youssef A. Attia & Khalid A. Asiry, 2021. "Agro-Livestock Farming System Sustainability during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of Information and Communication Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Yuan Li Liu & Kai Zhu & Qi Yao Chen & Jing Li & Jin Cai & Tian He & He Ping Liao, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Farm Households’ Vulnerability to Multidimensional Poverty in Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Collins C. Okolie & Abiodun A. Ogundeji, 2022. "Effect of COVID-19 on agricultural production and food security: A scientometric analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Tomas Baležentis & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Artiom Volkov & Erika Ribašauskienė & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2021. "Policies for Rapid Mitigation of the Crisis’ Effects on Agricultural Supply Chains: A Multi-Criteria Decision Support System with Monte Carlo Simulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    9. Lijie Wang, 2022. "Food Supply Chain Sustainability Strategy for Fresh Retailer and Multi-Output Random Fresh Suppliers after COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Nadežda Jankelová & Juraj Mišún, 2021. "Key Competencies of Agricultural Managers in the Acute Stage of the COVID-19 Crisis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.
    11. Husain, Zakir & Ghosh, Saswata & Dutta, Mousumi, 2022. "Changes in dietary practices of mother and child during the COVID-19 lockdown: Results from a household survey in Bihar, India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    12. Boglárka Anna Éliás & Attila Jámbor, 2021. "Food Security and COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the First-Year Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Kalle Hirvonen & Bart Minten & Belay Mohammed & Seneshaw Tamru, 2021. "Food prices and marketing margins during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from vegetable value chains in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 407-421, May.
    14. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan & Reimann, Felix, 2021. "On employer-paid parking and parking (cash-out) policy: A formal synthesis of different perspectives," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 499-516.
    15. Bimal Kanti Paul & Munshi Khaledur Rahman & Max Lu & Thomas W. Crawford, 2022. "Household Migration and Intentions for Future Migration in the Climate Change Vulnerable Lower Meghna Estuary of Coastal Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    16. Molloy, Joseph & Schatzmann, Thomas & Schoeman, Beaumont & Tchervenkov, Christopher & Hintermann, Beat & Axhausen, Kay W., 2021. "Observed impacts of the Covid-19 first wave on travel behaviour in Switzerland based on a large GPS panel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 43-51.
    17. Catherine Nkirote Kunyanga & Morten Fibieger Byskov & Keith Hyams & Samuel Mburu & Grace Werikhe & Rawlynce Bett, 2023. "Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Market Prices and Food Supply in Urban Markets in Nairobi, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.
    18. Soumya Gupta & Payal Seth & Mathew Abraham & Prabhu Pingali, 2022. "COVID-19 and women's nutrition security: panel data evidence from rural India," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 157-184, April.
    19. Kim, Suji & Lee, Sujin & Ko, Eunjeong & Jang, Kitae & Yeo, Jiho, 2021. "Changes in car and bus usage amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationship with land use and land price," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    20. Christian Martin Mützel & Joachim Scheiner, 2022. "Investigating spatio-temporal mobility patterns and changes in metro usage under the impact of COVID-19 using Taipei Metro smart card data," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 343-366, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:3:y:2022:i:3:p:21-402:d:858489. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.