Boda boda menace: Where do solutions lie? Part Two

Scores of road users in Uganda acknowledge that boda bodas are a death trap. They, however, often find themselves using the motorcycles regardless, endorsing it as a “necessary transport evil”.
Questions remain on whether the country will pick useful lessons from its neighbours, implement existing laws and let sanity reign on its roads.
For a long time, blame for boda boda accidents has partly been put on traffic police officers, who often time stand by and watch as the riders jump traffic lights and commit all manner of traffic offences.

Authorities speak out
However, Dr Stephen Kasiima, the director in-charge of Traffic and Road Safety, passed the buck to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
“KCCA and other local authorities must recruit traffic wardens to deal with boda bodas, Kamunyes (taxis) and jam. That is not our (police) major mandate. That is why we are not on the road cracking on boda bodas, because we have to be on traffic lights,” he said.
He added: “…by law, local authorities have a right to recruit them (traffic wardens), and they have a right to control jam, arrest offenders and prosecute them.”

Article 22 of the Police Act gives the power of regulating traffic to a “police officer in uniform”.
It states: “A police officer in uniform may, for the purpose of preserving public order and safety, stop, divert or otherwise direct and regulate the course of traffic. A person who does not comply with the direction or regulation issued under subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings.”

KCCA plans
In its Strategic Plan for 2015/16, KCCA lists several interventions to regulate boda boda operations, including the introduction of designated boda boda stages and of traffic wardens to support the police in traffic management. In the past month, KCCA has already deployed traffic warders, who work alongside the police to regulate traffic flow.
The authority is also implementing the promotion of the use of high passenger volume public transport (if the recent return of the Pioneer buses on the roads are anything to go by) and discourage the use of low volume passenger vehicles, including taxis and boda bodas.

Dr Kasiima refuted claims that the police do not crack down on boda bodas, explaining that they carry out weekly operations against errant riders.
For instance, in an operation carried out between March 1 to March 7, the police impounded 376 motor cycles in the Kampala Metropolitan Area, and collected Shs17.6 million in fines from bodas, while one rider was taken to court for a traffic offence.
KCCA and the police have also “embarked on identifying and marking places more ideal for Boda Boda stages and the no-boda zones, beginning with the CBD [Central Business District]”.

While this strategy appears promising, doubts lurk over its complete and consistent implementation, considering previous interventions, notably the enforcement of helmet and seat belt use, have been sporadic and reactive.
A March 2015 ACME online study revealed that 114 out of the 143 respondents interviewed, do not own or wear helmets when riding a boda boda.
According to AIP Foundation, an organisation that provides life-saving traffic safety knowledge and skills to low and middle income countries with the goal of preventing road traffic deaths and injuries, only 49 per cent of boda boda riders in Kampala use helmets, while less than 1 per cent of passengers use helmets.

Poor enforcement
AIP Foundation notes that, “although motorcycle helmets are mandatory by law for both drivers and passengers, enforcement is inconsistent and helmet use is low”.
It is because of the above that Ms Mable Nakitto Tomusange, the executive director Injury Control Centre, an organisation that aims at reducing road accident cases through advocacy and research, suggests that tightening helmet use and laws is crucial.

Tomusange also recommends that children should not be allowed to travel on boda bodas, background checks on boda boda riders be carried out before they are allowed into the trade, restricting boda boda operation within the Central Business District and sensitisation of passengers and riders on road safety requirements.
Chrysestom Kabugo, a boda boda rider, thinks safety on the road lies in the hands of passengers.

“As a passenger, you need to pay attention when on a boda boda and carefully note how he rides. If you do not trust him, get off and find another one,” he said.
Yennifer Censi, a Kampala resident, says for boda boda accidents to be curbed, it should be “obligatory for a passenger and the rider to use a helmet and not only wear it when they see a police officer”.
She said there should also be proper lanes for public transport such as boda bodas, have more lights erected along the roadside to reduce night accidents, and also for potholes to be fixed.

The case of Kenya
In neighbouring Kenya, concerns continue to grow over the rising number of accidents resulting from boda boda usage.
By September 2014, at least 291 boda boda riders had died in road accidents in Kenya, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). This was an increase from the 234 deaths recorded in the same period in 2013.
It is also noted that out of the 3,000 Kenyans who die every year in road accidents, boda bodas contribute the highest number of victims, as reported by the Standard newspaper.

Cognizant of these fatalities, the Kenyan government has come up with several measures, some of which include restricting the operation of boda bodas to counties and requiring that passengers, just like riders, take responsibility for their safety and follow traffic regulations.
Importantly, the National Transport and Road Safety Act 2015, stipulates guidelines for the operation of motorcycles in Kenya. Under the National Transport and Safety Authority (Operation of motorcycles) regulations 2015, no motorcycle shall be sold or transferred to another person without two helmets and two reflector jackets.

The riders are also mandated to provide their passengers with protective gear, have valid license and third party insurance. The riders should not “carry more than one person at a time” and “ensure that loads and passengers are not carried at the same time”.
Whether these and other guidelines are adhered to remain debatable, but what is notable is the implementation of the ban of motorcycles from the city of Nairobi, something Uganda is still grappling with.

The case of Rwanda
The story of Rwanda and its capital Kigali is, however, a unique and exemplary one. Other than the tidiness in the city and its environs, boda boda operators and passengers keenly obey rules, one of which requires that they and their passengers wear helmets. The helmets have the riders’ identification numbers and phone numbers engraved on them for easy identification.
Additionally, the riders must also be registered, obey traffic lights, carry only one passenger at a time and wear reflector jackets.
However, it should be noted that the boda boda industry in Rwanda is not without challenges.

Mr Tom Goodgellow, a lecturer of Urban Studies and International Development at the University of Sheffield, who carried extensive research on boda boda operations in Kampala and Kigali, notes: “In Kigali, the strict cap limiting taxi-motos to 3,700 in number has evidently been loosened, with recent estimates of current numbers ranging from 6,000 to around 10,000. The uniforms have also become less regimented, and the colour-coding scheme blurred.”
Accidents resulting from boda boda (or the taxi-moto) operations in Rwanda are also not completely eliminated, but what remains laudable is that the level of compliance and order is higher, compared to that of Uganda and Kenya.

Boda boda safety innovations
There have been several personal initiatives by some frequent boda bodas users who have bought for themselves helmets to ensure their safety.
Two start-ups in Kampala are also offering boda boda users the option of using certified trained riders that come with helmets, personalised reflector jackets and most importantly, safety.
One of the initiatives, SafeBoda, comes with a mobile phone application which allows passengers to contact the riders.

“We are using the existing mechanism but using technology to make it better. The idea of trust is very important,” says the founder of the initiative, Alastair Sussock.
The initiative is currently limited to areas of Kololo, Kisementi, Bukoto and Garden City but expansion plans are underway.
Another initiative, Tugende, which started off as a loan service for boda riders, now provides a VIP service by offering passengers access to well-trained riders.
“VIP drivers own their own motorcycles or are on their way to ownership, so they value keeping you and their bikes in good condition,” a message on the Tugende website, states.

It should, however, be noted that these services still reach a limited section of Kampala suburbs, implying that a bigger effort that caters for majority boda boda users countrywide is essential.
For now, those who cannot avoid using boda bodas, can sit and hold tight and pray they will arrive in one piece to their destination or better still, that relevant authorities can sort out the mess in the sector soon.

The writers work at the African Centre for Media Excellence
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