Bajaj Infested City (Hawassa) As you arrive at Hawassa city (the largest city in South Ethiopia) for the first time, you will be surprised to see swarms of Bajaj taxies in every parts of the city. The Indian made, three wheeled Bajaj taxies, have invaded the city and they could be found everywhere. In fact, they are the major means of transportation in this lovely city of Southern Ethiopia. Hawassa is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. In the last five years, the city has shown very impressive growth in infrastructures. The city is now becoming more preferable for living, work and investment. Until very recently, however, the city had very few roads that were in very poor conditions-bumpy and dusty. Those days, transportation had been a headache to the residents. There were very few Russian made lada taxis in the city and their fare was somewhat expensive Moreover, they operated only on the asphalt roads. Thus, people preferred to use horse carts to move from place to place in the city. The horse carts would take you to every neighborhood. If you had visited Hawassa some years ago, you would have witnessed all that. When we were undergrad students at Hawassa University, I remember, we used horse carts to get to the centre of the city as we couldn’t afford to pay for lad taxis. The residents also used pedal bikes as a means of transportation. Few years ago, you would have seen every people-men and women, young and old riding bicycles to work places, schools or market places. Others, who couldn’t afford to buy pedal bikes, had to settle for the horse carts or they had to rely on their feet even to travel long distances in a city that was once dusty, dirty and inhospitable. Currently, the city has some of the finest asphalt roads in the country and the Indian made taxies, Bajajs, are the dominant players on these roads. No blue minibus taxies here as it is the case in Addis. According to the city’s Road and Transport Office, there are about 5,000 Bajaj taxies in the city, and dozens of them are getting into the transport system every month. The blue, white, noisy and nauseating taxies have become so popular in the city in the last five years. Commonly, they seat three passengers comfortably, but they can also carry as far as five people particularly when traffic police are not in the scene. The Bajaj taxies (also called ‘Indian Hammer’ by some people) have taken over Hawassa monopolizing the transport system. They have got no competitors. They have replaced the traditional means of transportation that were so common in the city few years ago such as horse carts, lada taxies and pedal bikes. The horse carts are now banned in the city. You could find them only in the outskirts of the city. They are getting harder to spot in the city. The lada taxies are nowhere to be seen on the streets during the day time. Possibly, you will see them only at night time helping people who stay late at bars and night clubs. At present time, very few people are using pedal bikes. Certainly, there is no need to buy a pedal bike for 4,000 birr at all. Instead, people now prefer to use Bajaj taxies to move from place to place. Of course, a significant number of people also use motorbikes- animals that have overtaken the city next to Bajaj taxies. It is a common sight in Hawassa to see Bajaj taxies lined up to pick up passing passengers in every corner of the city. You have to just call out ‘Baaajaaaaaaaaaaaaj!’ In a fraction of seconds, they would be in front of you asking where you would be going. In cities with hot weather conditions such as Hawassa, the Bajajs are good as there would be no suffocation due to their open windows. Naturally, the Bajaj taxies are believed to offer economical and convenient mode of transportation. They are very cheap. They can take you to any part of the city and what you have got to pay ranges from 2birr to 3birr. If you are just arriving in the city, they will take you and your luggage only for 10birr to the place where you spend the night. They are known for their impressive fuel economy and this has endeared them to the public. In fact, it is not uncommon to see the blue and white Bajaj taxies in major cities such as Hawassa, Adama, Bushoftu, Dire Dawa, Bahirdar, Ambo, Gondar and others. I don’t think there is a city or town in Ethiopia where you don’t notice Bajaj taxies. You even see them in the suburbs of Addis Ababa. But I bet my money, you will not find a huge concentration of Bajaj taxies elsewhere as it is the case in Hawassa. Here nothing distracts your attention more than the fleet of Bajaj taxies that run wildly in every corner of the city. Due to their large number, you may not even notice the existence of other vehicles. The Bajaj taxis are risky at times. They have got a triangular form and as a result they have stability problems unless they are carefully driven. Very often we have witnessed the Bajaj taxis falling on one side and causing a lot of troubles to the passengers. A woman in my neighborhood had lost her leg when a Bajaj taxi fell down as the driver was escaping a police who was chasing him for breaking traffic rules. The Bajaj drivers are so careless. Some of the Bajaj taxi drivers don’t have driving licenses and they don’t look that they care much about it. They come from nowhere and block your ways as you are driving your car or riding your motor bike or walking on foot. They congest the main roads creating a jam-packed and chaotic scene in the city most of the time. Nowadays, a considerable number of Hawassa residents are owners of Bajaj taxies. Many consider Bajaj taxies as a rewarding business area. A lot of people crave for having their own Bajaj taxis since the three wheeled taxies have become additional sources of income. Actually, business people, civil servants, school teachers, university professors, engineers, carpenters, shoe shiners, shop keepers, NGO workers, all have Bajaj taxis laboring the whole day and bringing home about 100 and so birr on daily basis. What is more, Hawassa’s population size is increasing dramatically as the city continues to entertain dozens of new arrivals every day. This means, the city still needs dozens of Bajaj taxies to flow into the transport market generating more incomes for the Bajaj owners making Hawassa Bajaj infested city. Some five or four years ago, one could be the owner of the three wheeled taxies of our day, only for 25,000 birr. Of course, when Bajaj first arrived in Hawassa, its tag price was around 10,000 birr. But, today, if you want to buy a Bajaj taxi to get additional incomes as people do here to support your family, this amount of money cannot help you at all. With this amount you cannot even buy a scooter for your child. You could be a Bajaj owner only if you could manage to get as much as 100,000 birr. Possibly, the sky rocketing price of Bajaj taxies is the result of our economic prosperity in the last two decades. Still this big sum of money hasn’t stopped people from buying Bajaj taxies as many regard them as cows that never stop giving milk. Look, I am also thinking to have my own Indian made Bajaj, but when I think of the current tag price, I feel so uncomfortable. But I will never give up. I am sure that one day, I will have it. But, I still don’t know where the source of that 100,000 birr will be from. Anyways, I have now decided to have a driving license for the Bajaj taxi. I have a driving license, but that only works for the motor bike. When I get the Bajaj, I will drive it myself after a whole day of lecture at the university. I hope the Bajaj taxi will supplement my three thousand and plus birr salary that I am earning as a university lecturer. But all this could happen only when I manage to obtain that stated amount of money which could allow me to buy the Bajaj taxi. If not, everything would be just a day dream. If there is anyone out there, who wants to work with me jointly in the Bajaj taxi business, please, contact me. However, at the point of posting this article on face book, I learnt that no more Bajaj taxis would be allowed to get into the market from now onwards. Driver’s training centers have been told not to train anyone for driving Bajaj taxies. The city authorities now believe that the Bajaj taxis in the transport system are more than enough. This means that I cannot own Bajaj taxi anymore. I am so sorry! I have to think of another means of earning additional income. At present, it seems that Hawassa is ready to welcome another means of transport. What would be the next public transport for a city that experienced different levels of public transport from horse carts to the Indian made Bajaj taxies?
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 05:56:21 +0000