
Thailand’s Stalled Transition to Electric Motorcyclces
Tom Courtright · 17 November 2025
Bangkok’s streets are increasingly filled with sleek Chinese electric cars — BYD sedans drive past malls and food stalls, and Neta EVs…
Research, field notes, and analysis from the Lubyanza team.

Tom Courtright · 17 November 2025
Bangkok’s streets are increasingly filled with sleek Chinese electric cars — BYD sedans drive past malls and food stalls, and Neta EVs…

Tom Courtright · 25 October 2025
Two Cities, Two Systems: First Impressions of Bangkok’s Moto-Taxis

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 15 August 2025
Is price the only obstacle between boda riders and driving licences?

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 26 May 2024
After years of discussing the idea, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has finally embarked on installing boda stage signposts…

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 11 April 2024
From punctures to complex engine repairs, there’s a long list of fixes needed by a boda rider that take us to the garage. While these…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 9 December 2023
East Africa’s boda cities, Kampala and Nairobi, have a lot in common as well as disparities in the transportation sector. The busy streets…

Kalungi James · 16 October 2023
It’s no secret that Kampala’s bodaboda is a male-dominated business. But in recent years, female bodaboda riders have been making their presence known on the city’s bustling streets by increasingly taking up the occupation. There are several reasons for this, including the high u

Kalungi James · 21 August 2023
As boda bodas have taken over much of Uganda’s roadways over the years, causing widespread concern several boda boda apps have emerged, aiming to corner a market on digital ride-hailing and provide a more convenient and safe alternative to traditional hailing methods. While SafeB

Kalungi James · 25 July 2023
In the bustling city of Kampala, amidst the chaotic traffic and honking horns, there is a unique mode of transport that has stood the test of time — the boda gaali, also known as the bicycle boda or bicycle-taxi. The boda gaali can be seen weaving through the streets of Kampala a

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 4 June 2023
In the first week of April, Lubyanza Research Group conducted and finished its fourth quarterly boda survey.

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 16 May 2023
The bodaboda industry has gone through significant changes over the last few decades, becoming a leading mode of transportation across…

Kalungi James · 1 April 2023
Wanyana Steven, a lubyanza rider who stays in Bweyogerere, woke up in Mulago National Referral Hospital on a recent Saturday morning after a close brush with death. The last thing he remembered was that he set off from the city center the previous evening to go back home and rest

Kalungi James · 22 March 2023
In early January, Kalungi and Geofrey spent a week observing boda riders for the third Quarterly Boda Survey. This time, however, with…

Kalungi James · 16 March 2023
Executive Summary

Tom Courtright · 12 March 2023
By Geofrey Ndhogezi and Tom Courtright
Kalungi James · 4 March 2023
After agriculture, the boda boda industry is estimated to be the second largest employer of the youth in Uganda. Many youth milk profits from this business but are sometimes late to re-invest in other more productive ventures that can help them when they are older or are less abl
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 19 February 2023
Reflecting on The Wheels of Change-safe and sustainable motorcycles in sub Saharan Africa, a report by the FIA Foundation, it looks obvious…

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 1 February 2023
The rampant chaos on the streets of Kampala is so distressing that a crackdown on traffic offenders was inevitable. Boda bodas, who are…

Tom Courtright · 25 January 2023
By Alon Muhame
Tom Courtright · 9 January 2023

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 23 December 2022
The Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), whose population is slightly over 3.5 million, faces terrible traffic congestion, road rage…

Tom Courtright · 27 November 2022
Earlier this year, we accepted the only way to deal with the lack of comparable boda boda data in Kampala was for us to start collecting…

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 9 September 2022
This article is adapted from Motorcycle Taxis, Extended Lockdown, and Inequality at Work in Kampala, Uganda by Richard Mallet, Hakimu…
Tom Courtright · 22 August 2022

Tom Courtright · 15 August 2022
Last week, after it was clear the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)’s most recent attempt at boda boda registration had failed, the…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 9 August 2022
In February of this year, the State Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs Mr. Kabuye Kyofatogabye gave an ultimatum of July 1 for…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 4 August 2022

Tom Courtright · 14 July 2022
Introduction

Tom Courtright · 13 June 2022
by Geofrey Ndhogezi and Tom Courtright

Tom Courtright · 7 May 2022
Over the past month I’ve been compiling a database of newspaper articles on bodabodas in Tanzania (160+ as of now, and that’s just the…

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 27 April 2022
In the streets of Kampala, two-wheelers swarm all available space, while matatus and cars push through the center. Rarely seen is the…

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 2 April 2022
Before we go reaching for new haphazard regulations, we should first use what we have.

Tom Courtright · 27 March 2022
Following the tradition of these field notes pieces, this is slightly more personal. In January, I returned to Tanzania, where I grew…

Tom Courtright · 18 February 2022
As I pointed out in my article for African Arguments earlier this week, boda bodas have been marginalized in society and sidelined from…

Tom Courtright · 21 January 2022
by Geofrey Ndhogezi

Geofrey Ndhogezi · 21 January 2022
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has once again intensified its efforts to organize the city. Under the theme "Smart City", the…

Tom Courtright · 2 January 2022
Last year saw significant stopping and starting for boda bodas in Uganda and across East Africa. Curfews and lockdowns continued to…

Tom Courtright · 17 December 2021
The steep, winding roads of Freetown, Sierra Leone can surprise you with their transportation diversity, though sweat will likely drip down…

Tom Courtright · 14 December 2021
Grabbing a boda in much of Uganda requires either knowing the landscape or how to negotiate, or both. But why do trips cost what they cost?
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 30 November 2021
Mpaawo atamanyi mulimu gwenkola. Nkolera mu lujjudde. Sseekwekelera. Buli gwensisinkana ayanguyilwa okukolagana nange. Byenkola…

Tom Courtright · 31 October 2021
Multimodal transportation — meaning the integration of different travel modes — is widely recognized as a key element of an effective…

Tom Courtright · 24 October 2021
Boda drivers are desperate to become owners of their own motorcycles — but it’s not an easy process, nor is it cheap.

Tom Courtright · 12 October 2021
In Fort Portal, Kabarole District, I met Teddy Kabatoro, vice chairperson of the Kabarole Womens Boda Boda Rider and Farmer Association…

Tom Courtright · 4 October 2021
A bus company is trying to leave touts behind, to boda riders benefit.
Tom Courtright · 23 September 2021
While boda bodas tend to spend most of their time moving people, they also move goods — but the way they move cargo, as it’s called in…

Tom Courtright · 12 September 2021
By Geofrey Ndhogezi

Tom Courtright · 25 July 2021
Boda drivers are in crisis.

Tom Courtright · 21 July 2021
By Geofrey Ndhogezi
Tom Courtright · 19 July 2021
From Tom’s twitter:

Tom Courtright · 12 July 2021
As door-to-door transporters of people and goods across cities, boda boda drivers navigate the city streets more than anyone else in the…

Tom Courtright · 17 June 2021
Fort Portal is a newly-declared city of a little over 50,000 people in Western Uganda, near the base of the Rwenzori mountains with the…

Tom Courtright · 5 May 2021
At the stage, boda drivers most important relationships are with local business owners, residents, passing drivers, and authority figures.

Tom Courtright · 28 April 2021
by Geofrey Ndhogezi
Tom Courtright · 7 March 2021
Moving around Kampala and all across towns in Uganda, groups of boda riders are hanging out next to shops, intersections, and wide spots…

Tom Courtright · 11 January 2021
If you’ve ever been applauded for being creative, it’s likely that you created a masterpiece of some sort and you’re proud of it. Normally…

Tom Courtright · 12 December 2020
One of the most common and well-founded complaints towards boda bodas is their safety record. In Mulago hospital there is the nicknamed…
Tom Courtright · 30 November 2020
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>This man here putting on a safe boda helmet carrying a gun, these are the same…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 24 November 2020
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 24 November 2020

Tom Courtright · 18 November 2020
Recently, a large, historic fig tree in Nairobi was scheduled to be cut down to make way for the Nairobi Expressway, and environmental…

Tom Courtright · 2 November 2020
This blog is the product of conversations between Tom Courtright and Geofrey Ndhogezi — a student of urban planning and a boda rider —…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 30 October 2020
It's here that everyone will learn about everything from the behavior of boda riders, the unique accessibility that boda bodas offer, the…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 12 October 2020
Mobility Faces Paralysis.

Tom Courtright · 10 October 2020
This article was initially sent to a Ugandan newspaper to be published during the COVID-19 ban on boda boda operations in Kampala. The…
Geofrey Ndhogezi · 3 August 2020
One more thing ought not to be missed: We are living in a nation where confusion is promoted. Where transparency is deliberately…