Chaos in Kampala

Kampala is like Rome. In that both cities were founded and eventually developed around and over seven hills. And that is where the comparison's end. Almost. But not quite. Rome's drivers are terrible. Kampala's would probably show the the Roman's a thing or two about traffic, driving……and surviving! The roads in Kampala are small, not maintained AT ALL and designed for about a thousandth of the number of vehicles that are there now. There is nothing but chaos on the roads of Kampala. And the pavements; and about anywhere a vehicle can go and sometimes even where they can't. Too many people using too many vehicles trying to get to too many places using too many routes and being taken for a ride by too many people trying to make a profit is a recipe for……Chaos in Kampala!

Since everybody who can leave the countryside for city does, they still need to get back to where the came from. And almost everybody seems to gravitate to Kampala at some stage of their lives! In all the time we were in Uganda, we never saw a single piece of evidence to suggest that there was any public transport. If the one thing that Africans are, besides being patient, is that they are opportunistic. No transport, no problem; and a whole new private industry is born. Anybody who can get a motorvehicle of any sort, is in business of transportation. So shifting the newly mobile masses is no problem. For a price, of course! And that price is high.But vehicles need space. To drive. To park. To pick and drop off. Again no problem. Anywhere will do! By the side of your house, on the road, on the pavement, on the national highway. Wherever. Whenever. Show us the cash, and we will dash! And time is money. And safety not a factor. Slow is bad. Fast is good. Crammed to the rafters is best. And it is every man for himself out there. And the police look on in hopelessness and try and extract a bride when their pockets are looking a little bear. Is that a person on your lap? Yes? Ok, have another! Sorry, I can't hear you. Too bad, so sad! You don't like it, then walk.

But Ugandans have separated out different markets. There are big buses for big distances. There are mini-buses, matatus, for the smaller distances and intra-city stuff. There are the boda-bodas - small motorbikes never bigger than a 125, but with a load carrying capacity limited only by your imagination! Cheap and fast, they are even faster than the mini-buses! If you are not concerned about speed, or happy to pay a little less, then there are the bicycle taxis called piki-pikis. Don't like any of those, then you can always walk! Don't like it? Too bad because you will never go from one place to another in this city! Since traffic is jammed solid 23hrs a day, boda-bodas do the trick, but chances are you might not get there at all though!