Difference between revisions of "Boda-boda (Uganda)"

[[File:Photograph of boda-bodas in Kampala.jpeg |200px|thumb|left|Photograph representing a pair of boda-bodas in Kampala, Uganda.]]

[[File:Photograph of boda-bodas in Kampala.jpeg |200px|thumb|left|Photograph representing a pair of boda-bodas in Kampala, Uganda.]]

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.

[[File:Closer look at bodas in Kampala.jpeg|250px|thumb|right|Close-up photograph showing, in more detail, a group of boda-bodas in Kampala, Uganda.]]

[[File:Closer look at bodas in Kampala.jpeg|250px|thumb|right|Close-up photograph showing, in more detail, a group of boda-bodas in Kampala, Uganda.]]

Despite initial government efforts to stimulate the sector, the Kampala City Council soon began to fear that the sector was running out of control, dominating the roads without any regulatory oversight, generating huge numbers of traffic accidents. Around 60 per cent of the people admitted to the city’s main hospital with fractures are there due to boda-boda related accidents. In 2014 alone, 3,124 people died on the spot as a result of boda-boda accidents, while 12,754 were seriously injured (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>. It is therefore little surprise that boda-boda drivers are often considered to be an out-of-control group of ‘hooligans’. Very few are registered as operators with the Transport Licensing Board, and many do not even possess driving licenses. They also pay nothing by way of tax. These problems led to repeated efforts in the 2000s to introduce regulations in the form of mandatory driving licences, Passenger Service Vehicle permits, helmets (for driver and passenger) and third party insurance, as well as controls on numbers. There were also repeated attempts to impose a basic local tax on drivers.  

Despite initial government efforts to stimulate the sector, the Kampala City Council soon began to fear that the sector was running out of control, dominating the roads without any regulatory oversight, generating huge numbers of traffic accidents. Around 60 per cent of the people admitted to the city’s main hospital with fractures are there due to boda-boda related accidents. In 2014 alone, 3,124 people died on the spot as a result of boda-boda accidents, while 12,754 were seriously injured (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>. It is therefore little surprise that boda-boda drivers are often considered to be an out-of-control group of ‘hooligans’. Very few are registered as operators with the Transport Licensing Board, and many do not even possess driving licenses. They also pay nothing by way of tax. These problems led to repeated efforts in the 2000s to introduce regulations in the form of mandatory driving licences, Passenger Service Vehicle permits, helmets (for driver and passenger) and third party insurance, as well as controls on numbers. There were also repeated attempts to impose a basic local tax on drivers.  

[[File:Photograph of a group of bodas.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|Photograph depicting a group of boda-boda in Uganda.]]

[[File:Photograph of a group of bodas.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|Photograph depicting a group of boda-boda in Uganda.]]

The uncontrolled growth of this sector and the failure to formalise, regulate or tax it over successive decades contrasts strongly with neighbouring Rwanda, where the same phenomenon (known as taxi-moto) was brought under tight regulatory control from 2007, with strict limits on numbers and the introduction of numerous taxes (Rollason 2013<ref>Rollason, W. 2013. Performance, poverty and urban development: Kigali’s motari and the spectacle city, in Afrika Focus 26.2: 9-29.</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. Howe, J., & Davis, A. 2002. Boda Boda – Uganda’s rural and urban low-capacity transport services, in Godard, X. and Fatonzoun, I. (eds.), Urban Mobility for All, Lisse: AA Balkema Publishers: 235-240.</ref>). In Uganda, boda-boda drivers are now such a substantial component of the urban population that they have come to represent a broader socioeconomic category, sometimes referred to as the ‘boda-boda class’, which implies an uneducated, roguish urban underclass with particular political leanings. In reality, this is not always an accurate characterisation, as many boda-boda drivers are actually highly educated – some even have university degrees – and engage in this practice simply because it is the best option available to them.

The uncontrolled growth of this sector and the failure to formalise, regulate or tax it over successive decades contrasts strongly with neighbouring Rwanda, where the same phenomenon (known as taxi-moto) was brought under tight regulatory control from 2007, with strict limits on numbers and the introduction of numerous taxes (Rollason 2013<ref>Rollason, W. 2013. Performance, poverty and urban development: Kigali’s motari and the spectacle city, in Afrika Focus 26.2: 9-29.</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. Howe, J., & Davis, A. 2002. Boda Boda – Uganda’s rural and urban low-capacity transport services, in Godard, X. and Fatonzoun, I. (eds.), Urban Mobility for All, Lisse: AA Balkema Publishers: 235-240.</ref>). In Uganda, boda-boda drivers are now such a substantial component of the urban population that they have come to represent a broader socioeconomic category, sometimes referred to as the ‘boda-boda class’, which implies an uneducated, roguish urban underclass with particular political leanings. In reality, this is not always an accurate characterisation, as many boda-boda drivers are actually highly educated – some even have university degrees – and engage in this practice simply because it is the best option available to them.

Even though the state has achieved little by way of control of the sector, various entrepreneurs have entered to try and capitalise on and improve the operation of boda-boda activities in recent years. One initiative is Safe Boda, a business start-up along the lines of the global taxi phenomenon Über, which was set up by a former Deloitte employee and – interestingly – a former advisor to the government of Rwanda, in conjunction with local drivers. Through a mobile phone application, users of this service can guarantee to be linked to trained, registered boda-boda drivers. Though a promising initiative, drivers registered to this service numbered only 50 in 2015 – a small drop in the ocean of boda-boda operators. Another initiative is Tugende, a company started up by an American entrepreneur that aims to provide hire-purchase motorcyles to large numbers of boda-boda drivers on more favourable terms than were otherwise available to them.

Even though the state has achieved little by way of control of the sector, various entrepreneurs have entered to try and capitalise on and improve the operation of boda-boda activities in recent years. One initiative is Safe Boda, a business start-up along the lines of the global taxi phenomenon Über, which was set up by a former Deloitte employee and – interestingly – a former advisor to the government of Rwanda, in conjunction with local drivers. Through a mobile phone application, users of this service can guarantee to be linked to trained, registered boda-boda drivers. Though a promising initiative, drivers registered to this service numbered only 50 in 2015 – a small drop in the ocean of boda-boda operators. Another initiative is Tugende, a company started up by an American entrepreneur that aims to provide hire-purchase motorcyles to large numbers of boda-boda drivers on more favourable terms than were otherwise available to them.