Uganda’s Motorcycle Taxis Resist Safety Rules

For tens of thousands of men in Uganda's capital, driving a motorcycle taxi is a way to make a living. For others, the vehicles known as boda-bodas are a necessary but dangerous form of transportation in a disorderly city.

The young men sit on motorcycles in the morning heat. When they see someone who might be a passenger, they start their machines and compete to offer the person a ride.

The motorcycle taxis are everywhere in East African capitals like Nairobi and Kigali. But in Kampala, the numbers are huge. The city of 3 million people has no mass transportation system and a high rate of unemployment. There are around 350,000 boda-bodas. The men driving them come from all parts of Uganda. They say there are no other jobs for them.

Nothing to do

"We just do this one because we have nothing to do," said one driver, Zubairi Idi Nyakuni. "All of us here...they have their degrees, they have their master's (degrees), but they are just here. They have nothing to do."

The city has tried to control them and remove them from the central business area. But it is not easy. The government fears what might happen if they anger a large group of jobless men.

Charles Mpagi is a spokesperson for Tugende, a company based in Kampala that finances boda-boda purchases. He said, "You have quite a large number of people that are young, who can't find jobs...and they do not have significant alternative income to get into other enterprises."

About 76 percent of Uganda's 43 million people are under 35, according to government figures. There are few jobs for them. The central bank reports that just one percent of Ugandan workers make $270 or more in monthly pay.

Uganda's unemployment rate for people between 18 and 30 was 17 percent in 2021 - higher than for other age groups. For young people in urban areas, it was 19 percent.

President Yoweri Museveni has held power since 1986. He has long welcomed the support of boda-boda men, who create a loud presence at his political rallies. Museveni has gifted boda-bodas to supporters and is reducing the three-year licensing fee from nearly $100 to about $35.

'Border, border!'

Motorcycles first appeared on the Uganda-Kenya border during political instability in the 1970s. The term "boda-boda" comes from the way drivers used to shout "border, border" at possible customers.

At the time, they were also a way to transport smugglers and their merchandise. Today, they are everywhere in Uganda, taking children to school, people to offices, the sick to clinics and even the dead to their burials.

Each year, police reports say that motorcycle taxis help carry out violent crime. The Ministry of Works and Transport also reports that the number of deadly accidents related to motorcycles across Uganda grew from 621 in 2014 to 1,404 in 2021.

Road safety regulations for motorcycles were first approved in 2004. But traffic police are often unable to make arrests for motorcyclists breaking the law. They fear fights because drivers quickly come to support one another.

Many boda-boda men pay the owner of their vehicle every month. Failure to pay means the boda-boda driver loses his job along with the motorcycle.

Innocent Awita, a boda-boda man who left school in 2008, said there was "too much pressure" to keep his motorcycle. He pays $4 a day and pays for fuel and repairs. Some days are better than others, but Awita said he sometimes goes without enough earnings to make the daily payment.

"I can work for three days without getting anything. But if I get something the next day, that can save my life," he said.

I'm John Russell.

Rodney Muhumuza reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

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taxi –n. a vehicle whose driver you pay for transportation service

alternative – adj. offering or expressing a choice

enterprise – n. a business organization

customer –n. a person or group who buys goods or services

smuggle – v. to move (someone or something) from one country into another illegally and secretly

merchandise –n. goods that are for sale to the public

clinic –n. a small health center that treats minor or simple health problems