Heartwarming transport on two wheels

Buses and coaches provide vital public transport worldwide, but they aren’t always accessible – especially in developing countries. In Kenya, however, bike-riding ladies are transforming public transport into a community-driven undertaking.

Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, notes that nearly 88.8 billion passenger-kilometres were travelled by bus or coach in Italy in 2022. France and Poland recorded 47.9 and 26 billion passenger-kilometres respectively, ranking second and third among reporting countries.

In developing countries, the figures aren’t as impressive, due to various constraints. The Conversation Africa, an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community, reports that “boda bodas” (motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa) fill a gap in the absence of reliable, efficient transport across Kenya, in both urban and rural areas. “It also addresses the problem of a poor transport infrastructure, especially a pathetic road network. In some areas the road network is so bad that only motorcycles can access communities,” notes Douglas Kivoi, principal policy analyst, governance sector at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and author of the article “Boda bodas are critical to Kenya’s transport system. But they’ve gone rogue”.

Kivoi adds that in 2008 the Kenyan government zero rated import duty on motorcycles up to 250cc, noting: “When the government liberalised the motorcycle industry, many unemployed young men took advantage of poor road networks and the chaotic transport sector to eke out a living by transporting people and goods on motorbikes.”

He points out that the boda boda transport business was in the spotlight in early March 2022 for all the wrong reasons, when a group of riders sexually assaulted a female motorist in Nairobi. Furthermore, this horror isn’t only directed at fellow road users, as boda boda drivers frequently assault their passengers – many of whom are women and girls – as well. All hope isn’t lost, however…

Enter the Boda Girls

In April 2022, the Tiba and Matibabu foundations launched a boda boda revolution that is uplifting the status of women in Kenyan communities. Tiba Foundation is a US non-profit that partners with local Kenyan health care organisations and provides funding, medical volunteers, and strategic guidance. Matibabu, which is based in the rural communities of Western Kenya, offers affordable medical services to over 200,000 people in dire need of access to professional healthcare.

“Traditionally, boda driving has been a ‘male job’ – one that pays up to 10 times as much as the farm labour that women typically perform,” Tiba points out on its website. “Through the Boda Girls programme, women can now learn to drive, build their taxi business, provide safe and free transportation for women to critical health and education services, and be a strong role-model to the young girls in their community.”

Diane Dodge, executive director of the Tiba Foundation, says the Boda Girls are on track to achieve the following goals:

• Develop a pathway for women to enter the traditionally male-dominated field of motorcycle taxi service;
• Teach reproductive health to girls at 84 schools;
• Distribute over 2,000 sustainable menstrual kits to help keep girls in school;
• Provide 40 free rides a week to women seeking maternal care or cancer screenings;
• Triple the number of women getting cervical cancer screenings;
• Increase the number of pregnancy ultrasounds and of women giving birth in the hospital.

All of their efforts landed the pink-clad motorcycle squad in the New York Times. “Out of the estimated 2.5 million drivers of Kenyan motorcycle taxis… only about 1,000 are women,” the Tiba Foundation stresses in a Facebook post where it rightfully boasts about the New York Times article.

“Many women who signed up for a training programme had never before driven a motorbike, let alone a car. They have faced harassment from passengers and fellow drivers,” the post continues. 

“But many of those who have graduated say they have begun to earn incomes and independence, discovered new strengths and, in some cases, started to support their families – accomplishments they once thought impossible.”

How it all began

Dr Rhiana Menen, vice president of Tiba, has joined a team of caregivers and volunteers of the foundation on multiple trips to Kenya.

“Dr Rhiana Menen is the very definition of a caregiver. She’s a surgeon for the St. Luke’s Health System, where she has changed the lives of countless families. And her passion for bringing care to medically underserved populations has also taken her far from Idaho,” Boise State Public Radio, based in Idaho, highlighted in its piece: “What’s a ‘Boda Girl?’ This Boise surgeon wants you to know about this life-changing initiative.”

“It felt like, ‘Oh, this is why someone wants to become a doctor, so that you can make this difference in the world’,” Menen told the radio station, which reported: “During one particular trip, Menen and her colleagues noticed that many of the young girls (were) getting on the back of so-called ‘boda boda’ scooters. Soon after, they learned that many of those same girls become victims of sexual assault, or worse.” It was at this point, confirms Dodge, that they “started to think of that transportation piece as an intervention point”.

In 2024, Tiba received a grant from Harvard Business School (HBS) Community Partners for a four-month study on scaling up Boda Girls. The HBS experts recommended that Tiba take the lead by working with other hospitals and NGOs in Western Kenya, similar to its efforts at Matibabu. The first implementation site, Matibabu is recognised as Tiba’s Boda Girls Innovation Lab, where the foundation will test out new ideas that deepen the Boda Girls’ efforts in their communities. One such idea is a pilot project using electric bodas, which will begin this year.

The Boda Girls are truly delivering heartwarming (and soon environmentally friendly) transport on two wheels. Well done, and keep up the great work!