Public Transport – Kampala Style! Part Two

This is the second part of a three part series I am writing on Public Transport in Kampala, Uganda.

In part one I talked about Taxis. In this part we will cover Boda-Bodas.
Originally a Boda-Boda was a bicycle operating between borders across the often wide no-mans-land at the African border crossings. They ferried passengers and their belongings from one border post to the other; border-to-border hence boda boda.

Now a days they operate all over the city of Kampala going anywhere and everywhere in the city. The original bicycle Bodas are still here but have been joined by small motorcycles. As they can weave their way through traffic they are often the fastest way from A to B. This comes at a price though. Generally it is more expensive to go by boda. It is also more dangerous.

They also carry all sorts of goods. Anything that can fit on a boda will be carried by a boda. It is amazing what can be carried on a boda. A bicycle boda can carry up to 7 crates full of soda. Or 4 20L jerry cans full of water. Even nursery school children are taken to and from school by boda, up to 3 children on the same boda.

You can hire a boda almost everywhere in town. They have stages all over the city, where there usually are boda drivers waiting to be hired. Or you can flag one down when he is passing. And if you - as a muzungu at least - are walking towards or past a boda free for hire they will often offer their services to you.

In the third and final part tomorrow we will cover cabs and special hires.

Public Transport - Kampala Style! Part One

This is the first part of a three part series I am writing on Public Transport in Kampala, Uganda.

When you want to move around Kampala but do not have your own vehicle, you can choose between a few options.

Strictly speaking there is no real Public Transport, because it is all private initiative. Neither the government, the district or Kampala City Council operates or contracts private companies to offer public transport.

The mainstay of "Publicly Available Transport" comprises of Taxis and Boda-Bodas.

Taxis (known in Kenya as Matatus)
are usually Toyota Hiaces fitted and registered to carry 14 passengers. This is achieved by 4 rows of bench seats with 3 fixed seats at the back row and 2 fixed and one foldable seat in the 3 other rows. In addition to this there are seats in the front of the vehicle - next to the driver. But often they will try to fit 2-3 more persons in the taxi - more if there is kids. In addition to up to 18-19 passenger the taxi is operated by a crew of two, a driver and a conductor.

These taxis generally run on fixed routes across town. Where most (local) people go there will be taxis running that route. They will pickup and offload passengers at taxi stages along the route but will often stop outside of these stages, if someone wants to get on or off the taxi.

They are probably the cheapest way of getting around town but are also among the slowest as they will wait at key stages to fill the taxi with passengers. Taxis are governed and licensed by UTODA - Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association. Each taxi pays a license to UTODA who again will pay a fee to Kampala City Council.

As yu can imagine it can be a tight and slow journey going by taxi and as personal hygiene is not a priority to many Ugandans it can be a rather smelly affair too.

Tomorrow in part two we will take a look at Boda-Bodas. Don't miss it! ;-)