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Difference between revisions of "Boda-boda (Uganda)"
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The use of bicycles as a form of transport service for both goods and people dates back to the 1960s and 1970s in this region of Africa, but it was in the 1990s that the term boda-boda came into common currency. The term derives from the English word ‘border’, emerging in the context of transport across the Kenya-Uganda border in the town of Busia. Here there was a gap of over half a mile between the border gates on either side, and bicycle drivers offering their services would call out ‘boda-boda’ (border to border) to passengers who might want to be transported across the divide. | The use of bicycles as a form of transport service for both goods and people dates back to the 1960s and 1970s in this region of Africa, but it was in the 1990s that the term boda-boda came into common currency. The term derives from the English word ‘border’, emerging in the context of transport across the Kenya-Uganda border in the town of Busia. Here there was a gap of over half a mile between the border gates on either side, and bicycle drivers offering their services would call out ‘boda-boda’ (border to border) to passengers who might want to be transported across the divide. | ||
The use of these services quickly spread to other parts of Kenya and Uganda, and with the increase in cheap, low-powered Japanese motorcycles flooding Uganda from the 1990s, motorcycle-taxis increasingly came to dominate over push-bikes in many parts of the country – especially in the major cities (Bryceson et al 2003)<ref>Bryceson, D. F., Mbara, T. C., & Maunder, D. 2003. ‘Livelihoods, daily mobility and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa’. Transport Reviews, 23(2), 177-196.</ref>. The popularity of this transport option can be linked to the lack of good road infrastructure, collapse of the national public transport system from the 1980s onwards, deregulation of transport services, increased congestion in cities which motorcycles can navigate much more easily than larger vehicles, and sustained economic growth. Indeed, the poor can rarely afford to use boda-bodas as they can cost as much as seven times more per kilometre to use than buses or minibuses. They do, however, benefit greatly from boda-bodas as a source of income. One 2003 study found that some 1.7 million people, or 7 per cent of the population, received part or all of their livelihood from the industry (Howe 2003). | The use of these services quickly spread to other parts of Kenya and Uganda, and with the increase in cheap, low-powered Japanese motorcycles flooding Uganda from the 1990s, motorcycle-taxis increasingly came to dominate over push-bikes in many parts of the country – especially in the major cities (Bryceson et al 2003)<ref>Bryceson, D. F., Mbara, T. C., & Maunder, D. 2003. ‘Livelihoods, daily mobility and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa’. Transport Reviews, 23(2), 177-196.</ref>. The popularity of this transport option can be linked to the lack of good road infrastructure, collapse of the national public transport system from the 1980s onwards, deregulation of transport services, increased congestion in cities which motorcycles can navigate much more easily than larger vehicles, and sustained economic growth. Indeed, the poor can rarely afford to use boda-bodas as they can cost as much as seven times more per kilometre to use than buses or minibuses. They do, however, benefit greatly from boda-bodas as a source of income. One 2003 study found that some 1.7 million people, or 7 per cent of the population, received part or all of their livelihood from the industry (Howe 2003)<ref>Howe, J. 2003. 'Filling the middle': Uganda's appropriate transport services, Transport Reviews, 23(2), 161-176.</ref>. | ||
In the Ugandan capital Kampala, boda-bodas grew at an exponential rate during the 2000s, as the city mushroomed in size and the large number of matatu minibus-taxis contributed to traffic gridlock. It has been claimed that nowhere in the world are motorcycles more popular as a public transport option, and an estimated 800,000 boda-boda trips are taken every day (Kidimu 2015)<ref>Kidimu, G. 2015. Deadly rides in Kampala, The New Vision, 31 October. Available at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/675112-deadly-rides-in-kampala.html. Accessed 24 November 2015.</ref>. Various studies indicate a rise from around 4,000 boda boda drivers in Kampala in 2003 to 16,000 in 2007, 40,000 in 2010 and as many as 100,000 in 2014 (Bryceson et al 2003<ref>Bryceson, D. F., Mbara, T. C., & Maunder, D. 2003. ‘Livelihoods, daily mobility and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa’. Transport Reviews, 23(2), 177-196.</ref>; Goodfellow 2015<ref>Goodfellow, T. 2015. Taming the ‘Rogue’ Sector: Studying State Effectiveness in Africa through Informal Transport Politics, Comparative Politics 47(2): 127-147.</ref>). This rapid growth was partly a consequence of government policy, with the introduction of credit schemes to allow drivers to purchase their own motorbikes. For the most part, however, drivers either rent their bikes or are only able to purchase them gradually through a hire-purchase system. This provides a very lucrative opportunity for investors, who frequently make profits of at least 60 per cent per motorcycle when they sell to a driver incrementally. Boda-bodas therefore quickly became ‘big business’; those with means would often purchase tens or even hundreds to re-sell in this way. | In the Ugandan capital Kampala, boda-bodas grew at an exponential rate during the 2000s, as the city mushroomed in size and the large number of matatu minibus-taxis contributed to traffic gridlock. It has been claimed that nowhere in the world are motorcycles more popular as a public transport option, and an estimated 800,000 boda-boda trips are taken every day (Kidimu 2015)<ref>Kidimu, G. 2015. Deadly rides in Kampala, The New Vision, 31 October. Available at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/675112-deadly-rides-in-kampala.html. Accessed 24 November 2015.</ref>. Various studies indicate a rise from around 4,000 boda boda drivers in Kampala in 2003 to 16,000 in 2007, 40,000 in 2010 and as many as 100,000 in 2014 (Bryceson et al 2003<ref>Bryceson, D. F., Mbara, T. C., & Maunder, D. 2003. ‘Livelihoods, daily mobility and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa’. Transport Reviews, 23(2), 177-196.</ref>; Goodfellow 2015<ref>Goodfellow, T. 2015. Taming the ‘Rogue’ Sector: Studying State Effectiveness in Africa through Informal Transport Politics, Comparative Politics 47(2): 127-147.</ref>). This rapid growth was partly a consequence of government policy, with the introduction of credit schemes to allow drivers to purchase their own motorbikes. For the most part, however, drivers either rent their bikes or are only able to purchase them gradually through a hire-purchase system. This provides a very lucrative opportunity for investors, who frequently make profits of at least 60 per cent per motorcycle when they sell to a driver incrementally. Boda-bodas therefore quickly became ‘big business’; those with means would often purchase tens or even hundreds to re-sell in this way. | ||