The Dangerous Boda Boda Transport Mode: Mitigating an Impending War on the Roads in a Transforming City? Case of Kampala City

Abstract

This paper investigates the tyranny of motorbike (boda-boda) socio-economic costs associated with commercial motorbike accidents in a city setting and provides strategies to reduce the negative effect of such transport mode. Existing research has focused on social economic costs with vehicles automobile related accidents leaving silent but impactful broader indirect costs and strategies for managing boda-boda in the city undebated and in limbo. The study borrows from the view that cities and their streets are for everyone. City dwellers no matter the economic and social status must have an opportunity to enjoy life in cities. Based on a cross-sectional survey and documents analysis, this paper concludes that the costs of boda-boda accidents is alarming and may be silently impacting on economic growth and prosperity of city dwellers especially the bottom of the pyramid. The outcome of the study point to the need to continuously review such costs and institute mitigants to reduce boda-boda fatalities and injuries through various interventions but more importantly underpins the need to establish the true delivered of boda-boda accidents to their victims. The study findings are relevant since they provide an assessment of not only economic but social costs associated with motorbike accidents. The study provides strategies that are informed by empirical and secondary evidence in Uganda’s context and from international experiences. These are necessary for Uganda that seeks to create 9 cities and other countries are envision not at transforming their cities into smart cities but transiting existing municipal authorities into cities and gradually into smart cities.