Informal transportation systems in the region of Urabá in Colombia through the lens of everyday forms of resistance

Abstract

The informal transport sector has various ambivalent characteristics and often a negative connotation since it commonly operates unauthorized and illicitly and is not part of the official transport sector. However, the informal sector provides a mix of legitimate transport offerings as well as important complementary services. The paper focuses on these ‘new mobilities’ and aims to understand informal transportation systems not only as a service coverage in specific areas lacking formal transit, but also as an activity that arises as a popular form of struggle and a covert and unorganized form of resistance against the political power embedded in dominant transportation systems. Through an empirical study conducted in the region of Urabá in Colombia the paper explores how the dominant agricultural industries in the region are causing huge challenges related to the overlap of transportation scales, congestion and risks of accidents in urban areas, affecting urban development, and how injustices of the existing public transport services and insufficient road infrastructures trigger the production of informal transportation. The paper mobilizes the theory of ‘everyday forms of resistance’, which draws attention to certain common behaviour and activities of subaltern groups as tactics to survive and undermine repressive domination. As such, this paper questions through its case study to what extent the informal transportation actions in Urabá are in a way challenging oppression and can be called an everyday form of resistance.

Keywords:

• Informal transportation
• social conflict
• everyday forms of resistance
• transport infrastructure
• urban development
• Urabá
• Colombia

Author’s contribution

Maritza Toro López: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing- Original draft, Visualization.

Pieter Van den Broeck: Supervision, Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

Notes

1 On several occasions in the field work, citizens asked to stop taking pictures and questioned about the reasons behind the pictures. Inhabitants of Urabá are often scared of situations that may endanger their lives, as they are used to the high violence rates in the region.

2 This data is relevant when considering that motorcycles are being used for informal collective transportation in Colombia. Although there is no official data of the number of motorcycles used for informal transportation, different regions of the country are using or providing informal transportation services as their main transportation mode (Semana Rural, 2017).

3 Female (35 years old) working as a receptionist in a local hotel of the municipality of Apartadó (interviewed May 2018). She is originally from Apartadó, however, lives in the municipality of Chigorodo, since she is one of the beneficiaries of a social interest house granted by the Colombian National government in this municipality. As part of her morning routine, she and her husband drop off (on their motorcycle) their young son at the pre-school in Chigorodo. Her name is not published in order to protect respondent confidentiality.

4 The different companies can be differentiated by colorful reflective jackets that characterize them.

5 According to the Colombia Ministry of Transportation and the National Government, this activity is illegal if it is offered on motorcycles of two wheels, however is allowed in motorcycles such as the Bajaj RE in cities of less than 50,000 inhabitants.

6 Male taxi driver (42 years old), living in the municipality of Apartadó (interviewed carried out in a commute between Apartado’s city center to the airport Antonio Roldán Betancur). He has been working as a taxi driver since 2000. His name is not published in order to protect respondent confidentiality.

7 These automobile ride-sharing platforms are not widely used in Urabá; however, the existing informal transportation systems of the region (pirates and moto-taxis) are services offered in private motorcycles and can be viewed as part of the gig economy category.

8 ‘Pico y placa’ (peak and [license] plate) is a term used in Colombia for the system that started in Bogotá, Colombia to help regulate traffic during rush hours. The digits of license plates are chosen such that a car with that license plate cannot be driven at a certain time on a certain day of the week. The restricted digits associated to each day are rotated yearly.

9 Female student (19 years old), living in the municipality of Apartadó (interviewed carried out in the University campus Ciencias del Mar in Turbo). She has to travel to this University campus 4 days every week. Her name is not published in order to protect respondent confidentiality.

10 A documentary named La Guerra del Centavo made by the Colombian Ciro Durán in 1985 reveals the day-to-day of mobility in Bogotá - Colombia, where drivers are involved in a real battle for passengers amidst the inoperative governmental authorities of the country (Mal Salvaje 2018).

11 Compulsory Traffic Accident Insurance every vehicle must have in Colombia.

12 Moto-taxi male driver (35 years old), (interviewed carried out while using the service in a commute in Apartado’s city center). He has been working as a moto-taxi driver since July 2017. His name is not published in order to protect respondent confidentiality.

13 Pirate male driver (23 years old), who is also a student of civil engineering registered in the Universidad de Antioquia in the municipality of Apartadó (interviewed in April 2018). The name is not published in order to protect respondent confidentiality.

14 At the moment when the interviews were conducted pirates in Urabá did not use an application to offer their services. However, in Colombia there are already several applications offering this type of services (Picap and Cuper). This applications in Medellín already have 4000 subscribed drivers and offer an efficient transportation service to the neighborhoods in the periphery (Dinero 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Administrative department of science, technology and innovation COLCIENCIAS.