When not footing (as Kenyans call walking) or riding in Elizabeth’s Toyota RAV4, I use the services of a boda boda (bicycle), a piki piki (motorcycle), a matatu (van), or car taxi to get around Eldoret. I’ve also used a city bus to get around Nairobi. One can also use a tuk tuk to get around Eldoret, but I haven’t had the opportunity to use one.
Here's Amy on a boda boda (bicycle taxi) ride, which costs about 30 cents from IU House to downtown Eldoret. What cracks me up is that most Kenyan women sit sideways on a boda boda like Amy's doing here, probably because it isn't easy to straddle a bike wearing long skirts (Kenyan women don't wear knee-length or shorter skirts). The words boda boda come from the English words, "border to border."
When a boda boda breaks down, the owner gets it fixed at a roadside repair spot.
I'm late getting to Imani Workshops, so I hail a piki piki to get me there in 10 minutes instead of 60 minutes on foot. The ride costs me the equivalent of $2.25. A ride in a car taxi to Imani Workshops costs me about $5.
If I visit a friend who lives in the outskirts of Eldoret, about 10 miles from downtown Eldoret, I can catch a matatu like this for about 30 cents each way. I use a matatu most often in Nairobi, each one-way trip also costs about 30 cents, or 60 cents during rush hour. Each matatu has a driver and another guy who flags down people and signals to the driver to stop (2 raps against the van's wall or ceiling) or go (1 rap -- or is it 1 rap to stop and 2 to go?).
The tuk tuk as seen here is another way to get around town. It seats 3 passengers -- 1 next to the driver and 2 in the back. I don't know how much a ride in it costs.
My Adventures in Kenya 