A Boda stage as riders await clients. Bodas awaiting their turn to take off to their destinations. It is impossible you finding someone in U...
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| A Boda stage as riders await clients. |
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| Bodas awaiting their turn to take off to their destinations. |
It is impossible you finding someone in Uganda say motorcycle, rather your likely to hear Boda Boda. This is a really popular means of transport in Uganda and I would say it is the fastest means of road transport especially when there is a lot of traffic. My relationship with Boda Bodas is a love-hate story. Yes I am totally in love with Boda Bodas when I have a really important appointment and I am running late because I know the Boda Boda will surpass the traffic and try to get me where I am going on time.
The new innovation of e-Bodas just makes you love them more because you order from the safety of your location and it will find you there despite the network issues which will be a story for another day. These e-Bodas like Uber, safe Boda, Jack has me sorted (interesting name) , Taxify, century Boda etc have a policy of giving customers helmets for safety purposes and their prices are normally fair. And who would not want to get where they are going as quickly as possible at pocket friendly prices!
However they are days when I really loathe them and I feel like I want them to disappear off the surface of the earth and that is where the hate relationship comes in.
There are times when your trying to cross a busy road and you wait patiently and then an opportunity presents itself where you see a car is far enough and there will be enough time to get to the side before the car is near enough. As you take that step to start crossing, out of the blue a Boda Boda comes speeding and you miss out on your chance just like that and then you have to wait for the traffic lights to come to your rescue and the red light is like an answered prayer for you.
Sometimes that answered prayer of the red light seems to be misinterpreted by some Boda Boda riders because as your crossing and your really sure your safe, to your surprise you see a Boda switching to a lane it is not supposed to be using or going when it is supposed to wait and your forced to do to the side step dance if your in the middle of the road. This forces pedestrians in Uganda to always look both sides of the road even when they are crossing even though the red light is on.
You may think that these are the woes of pedestrians but even people with cars do have a number of complaints regarding Bodas. Numerous scratches have been gotten due to Boda riders and it is impossible to get them to fix such messes caused as they will have riden off.
If one is an avid user of Entebbe road they will tell you of how it is possible for your car to be surrounded by Bodas in that your move through the traffic is really dependant on them. The Bodas are normally congested in a certain spot along that road around the junction that connects to town in that it maybe overwhelming for a new driver on that road but definitely when one gets used I am sure you do become a pro on how to dodge them.
Another thing that does bother me is when your walking in the opposite direction of a Boda but then the rider asks you whether you would a ride. This causes you to ask yourself rhetorically " do you want to take me back where I have come from?" It is pretty straightforward that I am going to get one going in the direction I am going or maybe I'm just going to walk.
For the ladies in Uganda who face the issue of snide comments from Boda riders as you pass certain Boda stages let us keep on praying that one day such acts will be unlawful so they can face the wrath of their actions.
So if any legislator asked me should Bodas be scrapped from the city centre I would quickly say yes but then questions of "What will I do when I am getting late when I am stuck in traffic?" will creep up in my mind. My answer will then change to maybe regulate them but in an effective way that does not cause them to hike their fare and one that sustains their livelihood to but do not scarp them totally.
Yours,
A👑hero.
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