Riding Public Transportation in a 3rd World Country

(Riding Mass Transit)

My boyfriend Nick says the best way to experience a culture is to ride their public transportation system. I agree with him that it teaches you to travel the way locals do. But after my recent voyage to Sippi Waterfalls, I also think riding public transportation is a good way to grow jaded with the culture.
In Uganda there is no such motto as “the customer’s always right” or “your comfort is our priority.” In fact it’s exactly the opposite. Our adventures navigating to Sippi Falls can attest to a new business model of treating customers like cattle. We were to take a Matatu (taxi van) to Mbale, a city that could take anywhere between 90 minutes to 5 hours to get there, depending on the drivers perseverance to make money.
The first lesson we learned was that the Matatu doesn’t take off unless the whole cab is packed full. A notice inside the van stated capacity to be at 14. Slowly but surely the van filled up to 14 after an hour of waiting in the smoldering, cramped space of the cab. But “capacity” here isn’t limited to the number of seats. Most drivers make it their personal mission to make the biggest bang for their buck before starting the engine. So after another hour of claustrophobia, we were able to hit the road with 20 passengers squeezed 4 to a row. Kind of like those early high school days of pilling as many kids in the backseat as hip room would allow.


(One of the many street vendors making a buck on the go)

I won’t go into great detail. But suffice it to say that after 1 flat tire, 2 pit-stops in various towns so street vendors could patronize our windows by selling mystery meat on a stick, and a few small elbow nudging victories that got me a little extra space; we arrived at in Mbale 5 hours later.


(A flat tire, just one of the many pitstops)

But the fun doesn’t end here. On our return trip to Jinja the Matatu drivers surprised us with another new business model. Cramming 22 passengers inside that same “14 passenger van” wasn’t making enough of a profit, this time the passengers were expected to hold appliances on their laps. These Matatu drivers are smart. Why limit transport to just people? Why not pile chairs, tables, and charcoal on top of the van, force passengers to carry televisions and wooden pallets on their laps, and toss a couple live chickens in the back of the van while they’re at it? We began to look for that euphemistic kitchen sink to fill up the last of our breathing space.


(The top of the van, packed with random cargo...can you spot the kitchen sink?)

One could say this way of transit is the most economic and environmentally conscious way to travel. Maybe rather than trying to build expensive, invasive public transit systems in America, we just need to pack our vehicles full like sardines. Now that I’m finally able to breath deeply and my bruised ribs are healing from those vicious elbow wars, using the Ugandan model of mass transit doesn’t sound like so bad!…Let’s all forgo those silly safety regulations like seatbelts and working brakes, next time you want to “Go Green,” hitch a ride in a livestock carrier, just make sure to offer to hold any extra cargo they may be transporting.



(This sunset made the ride all worth it)