A cyclist tilts his bike for the ‘magical fuel’ to continue his journey. Photo | Kevin Githuku.
Whenever Janet Kyobutungi, a fashion designer in Wandegeya, wants to go about her business without hold ups, boda boda is the answer. Kyobutungi cannot imagine herself aboard a taxi after an urgent and juicy deal.
“One day, a client called me to Garden City Shopping Mall on Yusuf Lule Road at 1pm to take her dress measurements. As if that was not enough, she wanted me to tailor a dress for an event that was due two days later,” she recounts.
The seamstress hopped onto a boda boda at 12.45pm and made it to the shopping mall in less than 20 minutes.
“Meanwhile, the client had made countless frantic calls as I snaked through the lunch hour traffic jam. Crazy!”
On arrival, the cyclist asked that she brings loose change. Guess what! She handed him a Shs20,000 note to clear her fare. The cyclist gnashed his teeth before retorting: “Madamu! Why didn’t you alert me about your big monies as you boarded?” She stared at him blankly as her phone rang off the hook. Out of desperation, she asked the cyclist to give her Shs5,000 to save time. Just like that Kyobutungi dashed off to meet her agitated client.
Just like Kyobutungi, imagine a journalist rushing to crack that news assignment or a student rushing to school having to go through that.
One cannot ignore the cyclists’ fair share of challenges, ranging from accidents, indecency, and crime. However, if you have interacted with boda bodas you will agree that there is almost a culture of sorts, which most riders share in Uganda.
Waving money for change
You board the bike and on arrival at your destination, you hand the rider that Shs10,000 or bigger note. He stares blankly at you and droops his face. The next thing is your rider alights and waves the bank note at every passerby until a good Samaritan, who in most cases is a fellow rider makes the abrupt stop next to them. Voila! It is a bail out.
The Good Samaritan will not always show up, especially when the passenger is in a rush. Begging the question, can’t they just look for the change in advance?Some of us have mastered the art of telling them in advance to pass by petrol stations and the like, to look for change.
“Whenever I open my wallet in front of them, they crane their necks as if to scout for the notes and hurriedly ask me for a small note. Those guys tend to think that we are always looking for change for our own good,” says Kennedy Luswata, a frequent boda boda user.
The Shs500 change never sees light of day
If you are an ardent user of the commercial transport apps, you might just relate.
When one hails a ride, the fare range is indicated. If for example, the fare is Shs 4,500 and you hand them Shs5,000 they will pretend to empty their pockets to show lack of coin denominations. They say: ‘nga siina bitaano’(loosely translated, I don’t have Shs500).
The good news is a number of them nowadays seem to have, but the majority still just never do.
This sparked a conversation on X formerly Twitter, a while back with all sorts of people complaining about the mysterious Shs500 change, they have left for boda boda men all year long. If it were added up, one could buy themselves an asset.
One customer once took to X and said, “This year I am not leaving my 500-shilling- change to boda boda riders. That IST (Toyota car), won’t buy itself!”
It is the thought of waiting for a boda boda rider to look around for a Shs500-coin that he said he does not have that frustrates. One of my colleagues learnt the trick and makes sure he has coins for such times.
The quick alternative is if one opts for cashless transactions supported by some apps, where after the trips, the money is deducted from your account automatically, but some riders do not want to go cashless.
Superiority complex
While some of the riders on apps such as Safe Boda and Faras, who mostly wear branded vests and helmets tend to be humble and respect traffic rules. However, there is a crop of freelance riders therein who do not have time to waste on traffic rules. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard statements such as “Owa Safe boda vawo mpitewo” ( loosely translated you Safe Boda cyclist get out of my way) when the traffic lights flash red.
One wonders, are freelance riders insecure and feel the app riders, who respect traffic rules are superior to them or is it just false superiority and bullying?
Magical fuel or push
If you have never sat on a boda boda and it ran out of fuel, then you may not relate. When fuel runs out, the rider parks and respectfully urges you to step aside. The rider first shakes the bike side to side before opening the tank and peeping through as if to gauge the fuel level.
A boda boda cyclist flags money in a bid to look for change. Photo | Promise Twinamukye.
He will later tighten the tank lid and turn the machine upside down. Phew! It magically starts and rides to the nearest fuelling station. I cannot explain the science here. Other riders just push the motorbike until they reach the nearest fuel station. One literary said, “First wait and I fuel”. And upon turning the machine upside down, we were able to move from Sixth Street Industrial Area to Shell fuel station in Bugolobi. I am still in shock to date.
Ask the ‘experts’
Here, if you dare start a conversation about something major happening in the country or in the world, be ready for ‘expert’ analysis. Sometimes we do not even ask, but it comes anyway.
Boda boda riders have an opinion on current world affairs. A number of them will discuss the politics, finance, corruption, diplomacy. You just need to make sometime to verify, otherwise you can use the information at your own peril.
Can we also talk about how they always want to make conversation when they are speeding and we can barely hear a thing, but have to just keep agreeing? I pray we do not agree to the wrong things. I once saw a joke on social media where the rider was speeding on a highway and talking about how he is tired with life and would like to end it and the customer just said, “Yeah, me too”! Simply because they either heard the wrong thing or could not hear at all.
Others also have personal and very touching stories and all we can do is offer a listening ear as they pour out their hearts. It is a kind thing to do.
Love for longer routes
“So, I was once going to Central Police Station (CPS) from Lugogo Bypass. On hailing the ride, he assured me that the ride would take us 10 minutes. It was not before long that the route map ended up through different lanes in Kololo and we did 40 minutes,” recounts Tracy Nalwogga, a businesswoman.
A boda boda rider who does not know the proper map will give you a share of extra miles and radii which in turn leaves you digging deeper into your pockets.
Do some due diligence before or at least do yourself a favour and appear as though you know where you are going, even when you have no idea. The confidence tames them a little.
Fashion sense
Some of the riders have this unique sense of fashion that you cannot just help but notice. I have on multiple occasion travelled with riders wearing their jackets on top of jumpers, or others beanie hats under helmets, but whatever it is, as long as they are happy and ‘deliver’ me safely!
Boda solidarity
Should you accidentally be involved in a road mess with a boda boda cyclist, expect a swarm in a blink. They will always want to step in for their colleagues to ensure he or she leaves scot-free. That is if they do not give you a beating or extort you for a broken side mirror.
Also, have you ever noticed when the traffic police officers are checking for permits and road worthy motorbikes, word spreads like wildfire?
Of course, it will involve manoeuvring the heavy traffic or riding in the wrong lane to bypass the traffic enforcers. The unfortunate ones will get arrested, but the majority run.
Famed for multiple ‘deliveries’
While the riders are committed to transporting you and your goods whenever you send them, they are also famed for other deliveries. I am talking about the common jokes on social media about boda boda men who transport people’s friends, girlfriends and even boyfriends to specific locations. They even get the privilege of talking on phone with the hosts to receive clear directions before ‘making the delivery’!
Well this has helped as some may tell you, upon request, if the ‘delivery’ you are expecting has been delivered multiple times to other hosts.
Speeding like crazy
I have a trick; before I start my trip on a boda boda, I warn the rider that I am not in a hurry. I do this to ride safely. Unfortunately, most cyclists speed up unnecessarily, making dangerous manoeuvres in between vehicles in heavy traffic and even worse, use the wrong lane whenever they can.
I cannot explain the amount of adrenaline rush down my spine whenever they choose these rather illegal means. This ought to be regulated and the customer can learn to speak out.
So, if you have used a motorcycle as a means of transport in Kampala you can either relate or add more experiences, but the one thing we can always agree on, is the riders have come in handy for us at different times. While we pray they are regulated, we also close one eye and pray they do not go too far because a number of city dwellers still need their services.
According to a report published in March 2023 by the Kampala Capital City Authority, there are more than 150,000 registered boda bodas in the Ugandan city alone, and an estimated three million across East and Central Africa.
To cross the Uganda-Kenya border, a boda boda operator needs to possess a valid driving licence that costs Shs 230,000 and pay around Shs50,000 in transit fees.
The story of boda boda evolution from a bicycle to a motorbike taxi is a fascinating one. By 1982, Uganda was producing a lot of sugarcane that needed to be exported. Since it was difficult for growers to export their produce from Uganda to Kenya by bicycle, several commercial operators decided to import motorbikes from Asia to overcome the challenges of transportation.
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The story of boda boda evolution from a bicycle to a motorbike taxi is a fascinating one. By 1982, Uganda was producing a lot of sugarcane that needed to be exported. Since it was difficult for growers to export their produce from Uganda to Kenya by bicycle, several commercial operators decided to import motorbikes from Asia to overcome the challenges of transportation.
So, what started as a transport solution for coffee and sugarcane going from Busia to neighbouring Kenya quickly metamorphosed into a dual-purpose business?
Boda boda operators would go to Kenya with goods and, on the way back, they transported people. Hence the name ‘border-to-border’, which became ‘boda boda’ over time,” Vincent Kisiriko, a Ugandan journalist based in Kampala and the author of a book on the expansion of boda boda in East Africa.
-Source: TRT Africa.
