Matatus (taxis)

A little bit on transport in Uganda...

The taxis don't leave until they are full. And full to our standards is a bit different than full to Ugandan standards. For instance, leaving the taxi park in Kampala where rules are regulated, the taxi looks like this:



The pink man is the driver. The purple is the conductor (the one who collects money), the blue are the passengers, the red dots are babies scattered amongst the taxi, in the back there is a chicken in olive green and 2 goats in brown. I haven't included the luggage each person brings...really awkwardly shaped plastic items that don't fit anywhere except on your lap. But adding this would make the picture all muddled.

Now, when leaving Kampala and the taxi is filled to this capacity there is not much point in thinking about strategy on where to sit unless you are really tall and then the back is not the seat of choice. BUT the problem is is that the taxi never stays this way. Although the rule says a 14 passenger maximum is allowed, that is slightly changed outside of Kampala to a 14 passenger minimum. Here is a pretty common scene for a taxi after leaving the city:



Additions to this from the last are the lime green extra passengers picked up on the outskirts of kampala, the red circles are small children. This is still considerably comfortable if you have planned it out well. By planning I mean...Get the front seat and if that doesn't work, you assess the situation:

1. The size and shape of the other passengers and which rows are they sitting in - women have some big booties and there for big hips that can be painful if put between 2 large women.

2. How many children are in each woman's possession - ineveitably almost every women in the taxi will have children along for the ride, but sometimes they can be hiding and you sit down...next thing you know they are sitting on your lap the whole ride. Or babies who cry a lot, never fun to be stuck there. And taxi rides are a great time to breast feed so if you are uncomfortable with topless women around it's best not to take public transport.

3. Which jump seats are broken - this can be rough if caught in a bad seat. The seats at times won't hold themselves up or won't have a back to them so you have to them.

4. Look for the ones who like to talk - no matter how good the conversation starts, it almost always turns into a conversation of trying to convert you to another religion or trying to get a sponsor from America or whatever country you tell them you're from.

5. How many sacks of whatever are under which seat - it is already a pretty cramped space so you must look on the floor to see how much stuff is there. Foot freedom is key.

6. Whose next to the window - Ugandan women tend to refuse to open the window creating a hot box for the rest of the passengers, whereas men always open the window to allow body odor out, fresh air in.

There are many more, but the rest are mostly individual preferences. I think I got all the main ones that most everyone looks at.

Also, we are still on pretty main roads with this taxi. The deep village taxis there is no strategy except hold your breath and dive in. This one time I was coming from the village and to keep me in the taxi the conductor had to on my back while closing the door like you do when your suitcase is to full...sit on it while zipping it closed. I'll try to find (or take) some pictures of taxis so there is a real life picture for you and not my paint version.