At 163,883 bikes, the dealers sold more units in the nine months than the 100,425 units sold in a similar period a year ago.
Kenyans bought motorcycles worth Sh9.2 billion in the nine months to September indicating growing popularity of the two-wheelers.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows bike imports grew 61 per cent in the period to September from the Sh5.8 billion recorded in the previous year.
At 163,883 bikes, the dealers sold more units in the nine months than the 100,425 units sold in a similar period a year ago.
Motocycle taxis, commonly referred to as boda bodas, are preferred by both rural and urban dwellers for their ability to access places where other traditional means of transport have difficulty reaching, and their ability to manoeuvre traffic snarl-ups on busy urban roads.
National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) manager safety strategies and county co-ordinator Samuel Musumba said that boda boda operators inject Sh400 million into Kenya’s economy daily.
Despite their popularity, there has been rising concern on the number of boda boda accidents mostly linked to reckless riding. Data from the NTSA shows motorcycle accidents claimed more than 100 lives in the first two weeks of this year, raising concern over the safety of this flexible means of transport.
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