Jumping lights, driving down one-way streets, Ugandan motorcycles provide employment and traffic chaos

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Cheap motorcycles in Uganda are both a blessing and a curse for the capital Kampala—they provide employment for the country’s young population but are also seen as an urban menace in the congested streets. It can look like a game of Russian roulette on these roads in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Motorcycles weave between traffic, jump red lights, and carry precariously balanced loads they were never designed to haul. Locally, the bikes are known as boda bodas, a derivation from “Border Border,” the familiar cry of bike couriers selling goods between the Ugandan and Kenyan border. For the boda boda riders in Kampala, their bikes are a vital tool to earn their living, be it transporting goods or passengers. But for others, including shopkeepers and pedestrians, the boda bodas are a menace that they would like to see controlled and regulated. About half of the estimated 700,000 boda-bodas operate in Kampala, mostly driven by men who say there are no other jobs for them. The riders come from all parts of Uganda and have given Kampala’s streets a chaotic character to the onlooker. The boda boda riders, who operate mostly unregulated, have resisted recent attempts to dislodge them from the narrow streets of Kampala’s central business district. This is frustrating city authorities who want to clean up the area and are underscoring the government’s fears over the consequences of angering a horde of jobless men. Road safety regulations for motorcycles, first approved in 2004, are difficult to enforce because of the overwhelming numbers of boda bodas. Traffic police can only look on as boda boda riders run traffic lights and overtake dangerously. The officers are often unable to make arrests because of the risk to public order. The price of a new boda-boda is about 1,500 USD. On Kampala’s congested streets, the boda boda is seen by many as a symbol of freedom and the ability to earn a living. This article was provided by The Associated Press.