Looking for the African middle class? Head to the bus park
New “executive” services promise comfort and punctuality
The Ugandan traffic officer slid back the door of the 14-seater taxi to find 20 adults, four children, and a squashed Economist correspondent. “Why are none of you complaining?” she asked, peering into the tangle of limbs. Indeed, nobody had said anything as the conductor had delayed departure to stuff his minibus beyond legal limits. And now they kept quiet as the policewoman ordered the excess passengers to disembark. A mile down the road, with the cops out of sight, the evictees squeezed back in again, having hitched a ride on tactically positioned motorbikes.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Big deals on the bus”
From the May 20th 2023 edition
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