By MARTYN DRAKARD [MercatorNet] – Though overshadowed by Nairobi, the current regional hub of eastern Africa, Kampala is catching up fast, thanks to the mobile phone (which reached here several years before Kenya) and the wheel. While it is normal to take two hours to cross downtown Nairobi, longer when it rains, Kampala has the “boda-boda”, the motorcycle taxis, which move you around fast. In Nairobi they hardly exist.
“Boda” – the word is said twice for the sake of euphony — is a corruption and local pronunciation of the word “border”, the Kenya-Uganda border where the service originated many years ago, both as a means of goods transport and smuggling and for passengers. The boda-boda has many advantages: it takes you exactly where you want to go; it is a refreshing ride under the tropical sun; it is not bound by the same rules as heavier vehicles, except at traffic lights; it can carry as many as can fit safely; it is fast and efficient, and not expensive. It can also be hair-raising, as it weaves in and out of jams, measuring its way carefully between parked cars, its side mirrors skillfully missing the vehicles it brushes past.
Besides its local colour and pinch of excitement, the boda also provides a politically powerful lobby.
Continued at MercatorNet | More Chronicle & Notices.
The final product.
Ero Kamano.
[African Bicycle Design’s Blog] WE HAVE BEEN IN Kisumu now for one week. We spoke to the major parties that are involved in our project like the Victoria Boda Boda Sacco, Millennium Cities Initiative, Urban Matters, Kenya Investment Authority, Uvumbuzi, Boda boda drivers and metal workshops. We got a feeling of this city and the challenges it is facing. The major relevant challenges are the high poverty level, the lack of formal industries and the infrastructure that is not suitable for bicycles and causes dangerous situations.
Our project is aiming to develop a bicycle oriented product that stimulates entrepreneurship (and therefore empowers people who are living in the informal settlements). After our orientation we identified three potential groups that could benefit of our product; a bike specialized in the transport of freight, an addition to the Boda Boda to transport freight as well as people and the mobile street vendors.
Continued at African Bicycle Design’s Blog | More Chronicle & Notices.
