Boda Boda Case Studies in Busia and Mwea
Boda boda case studies were conducted in two study areas: Busia and Kirinyaga in 2003. The objective was to examine boda boda as an option for rural transport services provision focussing on incomes, age of entry to boda boda business, ownership of the bicycles, level of education, main activities and problems encountered, as well as bring out specifics on modal composition of local traffic flow, distances and payload capacities of different types of IMTs and other modes of transport. This is part of an on-going research to gain an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the issues and problems of rural transport services (RTS) in Kenya.
Bicycles are a major means of transport in Kenya, and boda boda gained prominence in the last 2-5 years due to inadequate transport services and deteriorating infrastructure, which have frustrated especially farmers' ability and efforts to transport and market their farm produce. This is particularly so in rural and peri-urban settings and has been with serious consequences.
In Mwea, bicycles are sourced from Embu or Nairobi at a cost of Kshs 2,600 but are modified at a cost of about Kshs 2,500 before being used for boda boda. This involves reinforcing or replacing weak parts or links. In Busia, people acquire bicycles from Uganda side at an average cost of about Kshs 3,200, and these are always ready for use. Data on ownership of bicycles in the project areas indicates that in Busia each household owns about two bicycles where as in Mwea two households share a bicycle. However, the proportion of the total number of bicycles that are used for boda boda in Busia is only 8 percent compared to 14 percent in Mwea. Many boda boda operators use their own bicycles, which they acquired and modified for this work. Up to 68 percent of boda boda in Busia are personal bicycles compared to Mwea with over 77 percent. There is also a number of people particularly women and older people in other occupation who hire out their bicycles for use. The hired bicycles constitute 30 percent of boda boda in Busia and 11.4 percent in Mwea.
The majority of boda boda operators in both Mwea and Busia are primary school dropouts. With boda boda associations formed to instil operational discipline, entry into boda boda is being regulated to allow only adults at the age of 18 and above. Boda boda trade is older and well organised in Busia than Mwea and as such a number of old people in their 40s are operating in this business. Operators in Busia generally work for longer hours than their counterparts in Mwea, working for up to 14 hours a day. In Busia boda boda operators wear uniforms for identification while on the other hand, boda boda identification is confined to bicycles which have number plates.
The bicycles are designed to carry only one passenger at a time but some carry two passengers especially when the other passenger is a younger person, with him or her sitting on the crossbar. Goods weighing 200 kg have been seen on boda boda, in which case the operators can only push the bicycles. Generally, women are the main customers of the boda boda industry, yet very few women are actually operating boda boda as drivers.
Transport charges are regulated by associations, and are based on distance and whether it is a person or goods. Goods will normally fetch a higher charge. In Mwea, it costs approximately Kshs 7 to move a person a distance of 1km and Kshs 5 in Busia. There are seasonal variations in charges with fares going up during rainy seasons. Boda boda provides an average income of Kshs 300 and Kshs 150 per day in Mwea and Busia respectively. Mwea has fewer number of boda boda operators and hence the competition is low, bringing higher returns compared to Busia. Incidentally, many boda boda operators do not consider themselves as employed despite the fact that they earn more than most lower-cadre civil servants and farm workers.
The maximum distances covered per day range from 70 km in Busia to 30 km in Mwea. The distance of 70 km is actually composed of many short trips along the Busia highway which is relatively flat and the road is in very good condition. Off-road tracks are normally undulating and rough and hence distance covered within such tracks is limited.
Early marriages in Busia are rampant compared to Mwea, and so is HIV/AIDS, and these problems have been attributed to cross-border trade and boda boda business. Paradoxically, women who are married to boda boda operators complained about their husbands’ loss of libido, who on the other hand attributed their lack of sexual condition to long hours of hard work, which made them to be too tired to be interested in sex. Other ailments include frequent bouts of pneumonia and chest pains.
The government waived import duties on bicycles in 2001 which was aimed at making them affordable to a majority of rural and urban population who relies largely on non-motorised means of transport. However, duty on spare parts remains high with the result that bicycle maintenance and repairs are costly. In Busia, the operators and repairers are able to smuggle spares from Uganda where the duty is low.
The problems encountered by boda boda operators are numerous other than on health and accidents. These include assault / mugging/ robbery especially at night by criminals who pose as customers and rob them of their day's collection, non payment by hooligans after they have reached their destination and harassment or arrest by police, when they end up carrying criminals on the run without their knowledge.
Boda boda operators have therefore come together in both areas to form association / welfare groups to instil operational discipline in their work as well as collectively deal with problems in boda boda business. The associations also act as control, regulating which routes and how passengers are treated, aside from providing assistance in cases of accidents, death, etc. The associations have also initiated other income generating activities such as brick-making and livestock keeping.
There are a number of challenges that need to be tackled for successful integration of boda boda countrywide. Nonetheless, be it social, business or other functions, moving people at low cost together with offering an alternative source of rural livelihoods, is the drive behind boda boda business. Many rural areas in Kenya remain remote and cut off from the mainstream activities. Other areas exhibit gaps between transport needs and requirements of communities and the ability of the existing transport systems to meet these wants. In an attempt to bridge this gap and open remote areas, it is imperative that we transfer a means that would not only be dependable, affordable and available, but that which will also seek to sustainably improve livelihoods of those communities, in consultations with them. The present transport crisis has therefore drawn the country's attention to alternative systems, and boda boda may at present and in future amount to a reliable and cost-effective means of transport for many rural and peri-urban and even urban communities.
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