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.

对于乌干达首都的数万人来说，驾驶摩的是一种谋生的方式。对于其他人来说，这些被称为boda-boda的车辆是城市中必要但危险的交通方式。

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.

这些年轻人在早晨的炎热中坐在摩托车上。当他们看到可能的乘客时，他们启动摩托车，争先恐后地向那个人提供搭乘服务。

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.

摩的在东非的首都，如内罗毕和基加利，到处都是。但在坎帕拉，这些摩托车的数量非常庞大。这座300万人口的城市没有公共交通系统，失业率很高。大约有35万辆boda-boda。这些司机来自乌干达的各个地方。他们说他们没有其他工作机会。

Nothing to do

无事可做

"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."

“我们只是做这个，因为我们没有其他事可做，”一位司机Zubairi Idi Nyakuni说。“我们这里的每个人……他们都有学位，有硕士学位，但他们就只能在这里。他们无事可做。”

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.

城市曾试图控制他们并将他们从中央商务区驱逐出去。但这并不容易。政府担心如果激怒一大群失业者会发生什么。

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."

Charles Mpagi是Tugende公司的发言人，该公司总部设在坎帕拉，提供boda-boda购车融资。他说：“有很多年轻人找不到工作……他们没有足够的替代收入去从事其他企业。”

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.

根据政府数据，乌干达4300万人中约76%的人年龄在35岁以下。他们的工作机会很少。中央银行报告称，仅有1%的乌干达工人每月工资达到270美元或更多。

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.

2021年，乌干达18至30岁人群的失业率为17%，高于其他年龄组。对于城市地区的年轻人，这一比例为19%。

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.

总统约韦里·穆塞韦尼自1986年以来一直执政。他长期以来欢迎boda-boda司机的支持，这些司机在他的政治集会上制造了嘈杂的气氛。穆塞韦尼曾赠送boda-boda给支持者，并将三年的许可费从近100美元降至约35美元。

'Border, border!'

“边界，边界！”

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.

摩托车最早出现在乌干达-肯尼亚边界，那个时候政治不稳定。术语“boda-boda”源自司机们曾经对可能的顾客大喊“边界，边界”的方式。

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.

当时，它们也用于运输走私者及其货物。如今，它们在乌干达无处不在，运送孩子上学，送人们去办公室，把病人送到诊所，甚至将尸体送到埋葬地。

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.

每年，警方报告称摩的帮助实施暴力犯罪。公共工程和交通部还报告称，乌干达与摩托车相关的致命事故数量从2014年的621起增长到2021年的1404起。

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.

摩托车的道路安全法规首次在2004年获得批准。但交通警察经常无法逮捕违法的摩托车司机。他们担心打架，因为司机们会迅速互相支持。

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.

许多boda-boda司机每月向车辆所有者支付费用。如果未支付，boda-boda司机将失去工作和摩托车。

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.

Innocent Awita是一名在2008年辍学的boda-boda司机，他说保持摩托车的运营压力“太大了”。他每天支付4美元，还需要支付燃料和维修费用。有时情况好一些，但Awita说他有时赚不到足够的钱来支付每日费用。

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

他说：“我可以连续工作三天而没有收入。但如果第二天有收入，那可以救我的命。”