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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Trade-offs are common behaviors of resilient systems, when the systems adapt to changing situations to meet multiple goals.
OBJECTIVE: In the context of Beijing taxi service system (BTSS), this work investigates the sharp-end taxi drivers' trade-offs between work safety and business profitability, demonstrates their resilience in balancing these two goals, and identifies factors which contribute to the trade-offs.
METHODS: An empirical framework incorporating questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, field observation, data screening and categorization was adopted. Data was collected from a random sample of 70 taxi drivers.
RESULTS: In the drivers' decisions we found slight bias in favor of profitability rather than safety (regardless of their finances), and a high level of resilience that the drivers had developed in making strategies for the trade-offs. Trip distance, possibility of traffic congestion, redundant consumption, weather conditions, road features, and real-time broadcast information were identified as determinants of the drivers' decision-making. Application: The findings informs BTSS organizational layers and regulators about the sharp-end's needs for productive safety, and provides an evidence base for making more definitive recommendations about support provision and resource re-allocation in an effective and proactive manner.
Language: en |