Field Notes #3: Mixing It Up in Freetown
The steep, winding roads of Freetown, Sierra Leone can surprise you with their transportation diversity, though sweat will likely drip down your forehead regardless of your choice.
Freetown has four means of popular transportation: the okada, kekeh, share-taxi, and poda-poda. These four modes cover the full spectrum from door-to-door to arterial services, and play different roles across Freetown’s diverse and often steep topography.
Okada
Okadas, often just called bikes on the street, are the classic motorcycle-taxi. They arrived in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and were hailed by many for providing employment in a post-war economy. Similar to motorcycle-taxis across the continent, Freetown okadas are mostly driven by young men who pay the owners a daily fee, a system called “masta money” in Sierra Leone.
Okadas cut through traffic and provide the fastest service. They also provide the most expensive regular service, due to them being a door-to-door service and having low capacity. Compared to Kampala, there is much less usage of okadas for moving goods.
Okadas have been restricted by a recent ban on their movements in the downtown area (check news). Though this was greeted with protests by drivers, it went ahead regardless. Police enforcement is not 100%, but it has lasted longer than some other bans. Similarly, police have set up at several roundabouts and other places to catch drivers for various infractions, making many okada trips impossible or requiring taking backstreets and one-way streets to get to your destination.
Kekehs
Kekehs, known as tuktuks in many other parts of the world, are the most recent introduction to Freetown’s streets, and play an interesting dual role in the transportation system. They began coming en masse around 2017, and similar to okadas can ply door-to-door trips. However, the majority of trips are shared trips along arteries.
Kekehs have three seats, though some drivers will move over and share their seat with a fourth customer. When calling a kekeh over, passengers can wave two or three fingers to indicate multiple passengers and required number of seats. Empty kekehs can be commissioned at higher prices to drive the hiring passengers around — this can go at around 30,000 Leones (~$3) an hour. Shading and a better reputation for safety means that kekehs can be friendlier for elderly, female, and family passengers, who are less interested in barely squeezing between a waste truck and a poda poda on an okada.
Kekehs are both rented on the masta money system and owned by some drivers. Drivers typically pay 100,000 Leones (~$10) a day to the owner.
Share-taxis
Share-taxis are another common form across the continent, and like kekehs, share-taxis play a dual role as both arterial shared transport and the occasional door-to-door service. Share-taxis can carry a minimum of four passengers, but often fit around six. Taxis have been around Freetown for much longer, though it’s unclear how long they have also operated in their shared capacity.
Poda-podas
Somewhat confusingly called poda-podas for those used to East African terminology, the minibus-taxi of Freetown is slightly cheaper than the share-taxi, and serves more long-distance routes. They can be crowded, hot, and slow, and can carry around 14–20 people.
Electrication, Ride-Hailing, and Ownership
The first electric okadas are currently being tested on the street in Freetown by a batter-swapping company, while one of the country’s largest solar companies is planning to bring in electric motorcycles from East Africa. Frequent power outages will provide a major obstacle to adoption, though the high cost of fuel does make transition attractive to drivers.
Two ride-hailing services have been attempted in Freetown — Taptap and Flash. Both services offered only four-wheel vehicle services, and Flash provided exclusively Land Rovers — catering very directly to the NGO-connected middle class and elite.
Taptap opened in 2019 and largely closed up when Covid hit and people didn’t want to be in closed cars with strangers. Mohamed Sheriff Bah, the founder of Taptap and now Country Director of Watu, said they didn’t expand into okadas or kekehs because of low tech literacy and a desire by young professionals to ride in four-wheeled vehicles.
Anecdotally, the majority of okadas and kekehs seem to operate on the masta money system. Watu is the first major asset financier to enter the market, entering the market in February 2021 to finance motorcycles. We will wait to see if they will finance kekehs as well.
Mixing It All Up
The transportation mix of Freetown provides a lot more options to residents than the boda boda — matatu dichotomy of Kampala and Nairobi. Kekehs provide a much more comfortable shared transport experience than minibus-taxis, while being cheaper and safer than okadas for door-to-door service. Share-taxis similarly provide a slightly more comfortable ride than poda-podas while being a bit cheaper than kekehs.
This diverse mix also makes it less burdensome when the authorities place bans such as the okada downtown ban, as kekehs can still provide door-to-door service in the banned area. Like having your rice, plantains, and fish all on the same plate, this diversity in services is a positive aspect of Freetonian transportation, and should be protected and encouraged elsewhere.
For further reading: check out this great report by the Sierra Leone Urban Research Center on sustainable urban mobility in Freetown.
