There simply are not
enough descriptive words in Webster’s Dictionary to paint a picture of how
Ugandan traffic and transportation work.
Let me begin my describing
the different options one has when traveling.
First you have matatus,
which I consider a death trap. Think of
the Scooby Doo van, four rows deep, each allowed to seat three passengers. The first row though houses the conductor,
putting them at four. The front has the
driver and two passengers. Don’t let
this fool you; I have contorted into a matatu with 30 other people. Incredibly illegal but you simply pay the
police off with a rukumi, 1,000 Ugandan Shillings or $0.40 cents. The back two
rows of these vehicles have a metal bar over the plastic sliding windows, which
is supposed to provide in structural support in the event that the car flips. A
life saving mechanism and a death trap in one.
Somehow terrifying…
Then you get to
bodas. Boda bodas are little two wheeled
motorcycles, or rather a hybrid of a Vespa and dirt bike. Peace Corps Volunteers are forbidden to ride
them but they provide a lot of entertainment.
These little guys carry anything and everything on them… From a family
of five to a flock of chickens heading to the butcher. Bodas zip in and out of traffic, often times
defying laws of physics.
Let’s talk about
bikes. These heavy, ironclad machines
are frequently used as a way to transport goods, with the person pushing the
bike rather than riding it. Large bundles
of plantains hang from every possible bar, pedal, and handle. Sometimes you can find bikes with an extra
pad on the back, which means you hop on the back with your helmet and they take
you to your destination.
Now don't even get me started on the roads.
In between matatus, bodas,
and bikes you have beat up pickups where you can find twenty people standing in the back to
get to their destination and giant trucks with anything from rubbish, bags of
coal, or cattle tied up with pieces of rope.
Transport here is a
miracle.
For a more entertaining
article please read here: Surviving
Ugandan Traffic
Taxi park on a good day!
Disappearing pavement
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