SafeBoda Turns To Business Clients As Crackdown Upends Motorbike Taxis
Weeks after Kampala city authorities enforced sweeping restrictions on motorcycle taxi operations in the central business district, Uganda’s bike-hailing pioneer SafeBoda has launched a new business transport platform, shifting its focus from individual passengers to corporate clients.
The company announced March 26 that its new B2B platform will allow small and medium enterprises and corporations to manage employee transport, coordinate deliveries, and track expenses through a centralised digital portal. More than 200 companies across Uganda are already using the system, it claims.
The pivot comes amid escalating tension between digital transport platforms and the Kampala Capital City Authority over new regulations that restrict passenger boda bodas from accessing the city centre. In early March, SafeBoda publicly demanded clarity from KCCA, questioning how digital ride-hailing platforms can survive if excluded from gazetted stages and how riders from city outskirts can legally drop off passengers in restricted zones.
Kampala, like many other cities, relies on the private sector for transport infrastructure, and this cannot simply be wished away, the company stated at the time, urging immediate stakeholder dialogue to prevent mass unemployment.
KCCA is implementing a transport regulatory plan that aims to cap registered riders at 27,870 and restrict passenger boda bodas to designated peripheral stages outside the central business district. Only motorcycles carrying cargo or riding without passengers will be allowed entry into the core city area under the proposed system. The authority has already gazetted 166 stages across Kampala’s five divisions, with a target of 929 stages once the plan is fully implemented.
The restrictions follow months of enforcement operations targeting illegal boda boda stages and street vendors. In February, Kampala affairs minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda gave vendors and unregulated transport operators two weeks to vacate the city centre. Traders under the Kampala City Traders Association had threatened to boycott licence payments if order was not restored, complaining that vendors and boda bodas were blocking walkways and arcade entrances.
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SafeBoda’s new corporate service allows businesses to book rides for staff, coordinate deliveries, purchase airtime and data, and track spending in real time. The platform also offers half-day or full-day vehicle bookings for corporate clients. Chief Executive Rob Sanford said the company is creating solutions for Africa that simplify everyday business challenges, enabling companies to focus on their growth priorities.
Industry observers note the move reflects a wider trend among African mobility startups seeking to diversify revenue streams and tap into corporate demand for efficient logistics and financial management tools. Notably, Egypt-born transit platform, Swvl, resorted to a similar pivot in 2023 which helped to steady the business.
SafeBoda, founded in Uganda in 2014, has evolved from a motorcycle ride hailing service into a multi service platform offering deliveries, payments, and car hailing services. Although it’s had to abandon efforts in other markets such as Kenya and Nigeria, SafeBoda has spent more than a decade working to professionalise Uganda’s boda boda sector through trained riders, helmets, and digital tracking.
KCCA’s transport plan, which also includes collaboration with state owned electric vehicle manufacturer Kiira Motors Corporation to introduce bus services, has drawn criticism from industry players who argue it lacks adequate consultation. Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago dismissed the directive as impractical without a fully operational mass transit system .
SafeBoda has maintained that its goal is not to oppose KCCA’s mandate to organise city transport but to assess the impact of the blanket directive on its business, noting that all its attempts to get clarity on the matter have been ignored.
