Extend Extend!!!!

One of the greatest challenges encountered by Peace Corps volunteers here, and Ugandan's for that matter, is transportation. Transportation is the biggest challenge I encounter and is what I complain about on Facebook the most. So since most people back home don't understand the transportation system here, and my griping, I thought I would do a post on it.

The roads are bad, with even major routes having sections of dirt, heavy construction, and speed bumps placed in seemingly meaningless places. There are no real traffic laws. Cars swerve all over the road, often flirting with oncoming traffic to avoid pot holes. The fluency with which the drivers execute these maneuvers is as impressive as the ride is terrifying. Means of transportation generally include the following, each with it's advantages and challenges.

Small Car Taxi's

A small car taxi is usually a Toyota Corolla (or similar Toyota Corona) from the early 90s. These generally depart from a taxi park with 4-5 people in the back seat and the driver and a passenger in the front. Masaka is the closest real city which has a taxi park, when I travel to my village this is the main means of transport. It costs 3000 Ugandan Shillings or about $1.40 for the 35k ride. I said earlier that we depart from the taxi park with about 7 people in the car. One of the mysteries of the Ugandan transportation system is that no matter how crowded a car is, they will stop to pick up anyone who waves them down on the way. This is both good and bad for me. Good because my village does not have a taxi stop in it and I have to wave cars down to get a ride to a major city. It is bad because on my way into Masaka this morning we had 10 adults in a Toyota Corolla. It is also annoying because it doesn't change the price you paid for the ride. I used to think the practice was simply about greed, with the drivers trying to make an extra buck, but after being here a while I really believe the practice is about community. Ugandans honestly believe that it is wrong to leave someone standing by the side of the road, no matter how full the car is. Ugandans in the taxis do not gripe and complain as the driver pulls over to pick up a 10th passenger, because they don't think of that person as cramming the vehicle, they think of all 10 of them as being in the same situation. In a small car taxi you generally average around 40-60 km / hr.

Mutatu

A Mutatu is a 15 passenger van taxi. These make up the largest aspect of the public transportation system in Uganda. Major cities operate taxi parks filled with these things going all over the country. See the pic of the Kampala taxi park bellow. Depending on the route and driver a Mutatu may operate like a bus and go non stop, or may operate like a small car taxi and pick up and drop off tons of folks along the way. If you are in the middle two rows of a Mutatu you are extremely susceptible of being told "extend extend!!!" by the conductor, meaning move over and make room for someone else. I haven't yet had the energy to attempt to explain that such action is really more like contracting... the opposite of extending, but a day will come when I boldly take up that fool's errand. A Mutatu will average anywhere from 40-75 km/hr depending on how many stops they make and for how long.

Often a Mutatu will stop and pick up a branch of Matoke or bag of potatoes and drop it off at a nearby market. One of my least comfortable Mutatu rides ever was a 4 hour journey with my fully loaded 50 lb backpack on my lap and my knees up in the air because my feet were resting on a potato sack.

The Infamous Kampala Taxi Park

Buses

I have only been on one bus in country but it remains the most comfortable means of public transport yet, despite the Ugandan woman who squeezed up beside me to watch Juno on my laptop. In the middle of the movie (which I was using headphones on so she could not hear) she leans up to me and says "they are playing as if that one is a young girl." I guess I'm glad she enjoyed it. Regardless, you have a nice seat, to yourself and are not in danger of losing it. Buses generally travel between 50 and 80 km / hr; they only stop in certain villages and will not pick up people beside the road.

The drawback of buses is having to wait for them to fill up. Last time I was in Mbarara and told em I was headed to my home they brought me over to a bus. As I approached they said, "hurry hurry" the bus is about to leave. I whipped out my wallet, bought a ticket, and skipped over to the bus delighted that we'd be cruising through the 100k trip and I'd be home before 7:00. The bus was owned and operated by Honesty Bus Lines and I was about to be smacked in the face by the cold hand of irony. As I boarded I saw that there were maybe 20 people on board. Four hours later we departed, around 8:30 at night. As expected the bus traveled quickly and I was home by 10:30, but not without having learned a lesson that cost about 4 hours of my life.

Boda Boda

A major form of travel in Uganda is Boda-Boda, motor cycle taxis named because the drivers will go anywhere, border to border. Peace Corps strictly forbids use of Bodas because they are just slightly less dangerous than playing Russian roulette. We have been told that 60% of hospital admissions in Kampala are from Boda accident victims. In many villages (including mine) this is the only means of motorized transportation available. Recently I saw a family of 6 all on one Boda Boda.

Hitch Hiking

Hitch hiking is one of the fastest and safest forms of travel available. Remember here in Uganda very few people own private cars, and the ones who do are generally well off professionals. They typically drive much safer than public transportation drivers, speak better English, and have safer, better maintained vehicles. Hitch Hiking is my preferred means of travel, especially whenever I am leaving a village and don't have the convenience of a taxi park. The problem is you don't know whether it is a private vehicle or a small car taxi until has pulled over, and I am not patient enough to wait, so I generally flag down whatever will stop for me, Mutatu, small car taxi, or private vehicle and take the first available. But I am always excited when the car pulls over and I see 4 empty leather seats inside and a driver in a dress shirt and slacks. In a private vehicle I have found 40-50 k per hour is about standard, but it is a very comfortable 40-50 k.

So that is the situation. Now you'll understand my next transportation related rant.