Global Journal of Economic and Finance Research

The study focused on the psychosocial factors influencing women’s choice of cab driving in southwest Nigeria: Untangling the quandary. Specifically examined how discouragement, traffic and ‘agberos’; unsolicited relationship requests; lack of personal vehicle ownership; and occupational stress influence women’s choice of cab deriving. Three theories underpinned the study. They were survival-based theory, the ownership theory and the resource-based view theory. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regression were adopted. 65 homogeneous purposively sampled female taxi drivers were given an online structured questionnaire as part of an explanatory descriptive survey design. The results showed owning a personal vehicle (R = 0.48, R² = 23%, p < 0.001), traffic and ‘agberos’ interference (R = 0.448, R² = 20.1%, p < 0.001), discouragement (R = 0.38, R² = 14.4%, p = 0.002), requests for relationships (R = 0.327, R² = 10.7%, p = 0.008), and stress (R = 0.325, R² = 10.5%, p = 0.008). These factors had a significant combined effect (R = 0.717, R² = 51.4%, adjusted R² = 47.3%, p < 0.001), indicating that structural and cumulative psychosocial limitations influence women's participation in taxi driving. According to the study's findings, traffic, ‘agberos’, and car ownership are the most significant social, structural, and psychological barriers that limit female participation. Institutional support, skill development, better road and motor park infrastructure, and access to reasonably priced cars are among the recommendations.

Discouragement, Traffic and ‘Agberos’, Request for Relationship, personally own a Car, and Stress.

1. Anwar, M. A., Odeo, I., & Otieno, B. (2023). There is no future in it: The social and economic implications of ride-hailing work in Africa. International Labour Review, 162(4), 589–611. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12364
2. Baruah, B. (2018). Road to empowerment? Women, transport and labour market participation in India. In C. Sweet & S. Ortiz Escalante (Eds.), Gender, transport and employment (pp. 96–112). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107769-8
3. Berrones-Sanz, L. D., & Araiza-Díaz, E. M. (2019). Working and health conditions of female taxi drivers in Mexico City: A comparative analysis between women and men. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 31, 100371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2019.100371
4. Black, J., Voie, E., Maurer, M., Palakeel, J., & Chacon, W. (2017). Truck cab design: Perceptions of women truck drivers. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition), 4(5), 460–468.
5. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315456539
6. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
7. Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
8. Firoozi, S., Khademi, N., & Farahani, H. (2025). Beyond gender-neutral transportation planning: Developing a multidimensional scale for assessing the suitability of a travel mode for women. Journal of Transport Geography, 128, 104323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104323
9. Gauvin, L., Tizzoni, M., Piaggesi, S., Young, A., Adler, N., Verhulst, S., Ferres, L., & Cattuto, C. (2020). Gender gaps in urban mobility. EPJ Data Science, 9(1), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-020-00233-x
10. Hasselwander, M., Martin, E., Mukamana, L., Kolarova, V., Mwaura, N., & Schwanen, T. (2025). Women's intention to work in men-dominated professions: The case of motorcycle taxi drivers in Kigali, Rwanda. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 59, 101266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2024.101266
11. Hiramatsu, A. (2022). Female taxi drivers in Mexico City: Facing patriarchal structures as a force of oppression. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(5), 1638–1657. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12633
12. Johnson, R., Seedhouse, A., & Newbery, R. (2016). Potholes and pitfalls: The impact of rural transport on female entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Journal of Transport Geography, 54, 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.04.013
13. Khosa, M. M. (1997). Sisters on slippery wheels: Women taxi drivers in South Africa. Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 33, 18–33.
14. Ling, L., Qian, X., & Ukkusuri, S. V. (2023). Impact of transportation network companies on labor supply and wages for taxi drivers. Transportation Research Record. Advance online publication.
15. Mensah, E. O. (2025). The gendered urban transportation landscape in Nigeria: Challenges of female tricycle riders. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 61(3), 2275–2290. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096251339085 
16. Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
17. Penrose, E. T. (1959). The theory of the growth of the firm. Basil Blackwell.
18. Porter, G., Mashiri, M., Basset, C., Starkey, P., Venter, C., et al. (2023). The lived experiences of women workers in Africa's transport sector: Reflections from Abuja, Cape Town and Tunis. Journal of Transport Geography, 113, 103726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103726
19. Ramukumba, T. S., & Mathikhi, M. S. (2016). Health assessment of taxi drivers in the city of Tshwane. Curationis, 39(1), Article a1572. https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v39i1.1572
20. Shaheen, S. A., Cohen, A. P., Wolfe, B., & Champlin, J. (2024). From taxis to ride-hailing: Examining gender issues for female drivers and passengers. National Institute for Congestion Reduction. https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NICR-Y3-2-9
21. Westmarland, N., & Anderson, J. (2001). Safe at the wheel? Security issues for female taxi drivers. Security Journal, 14(2), 29–40.
22. Zhuang, C., Gu, T., Chung, H., et al. (2025). Spatial-temporal insights into gender gaps in East Asian ride-hailing: Workload, efficiency, nighttime safety, and operational patterns. Journal of Transport Geography, 125, 104213.