In 2019 I pleasantly discovered that the city had recently put into place a new public bus system. Colloquially the buses carry the same name as the institution responsible for setting them up and running them: SOTRACO (Société de transport en commun — literally, ‘Public Transport Company’).
Part of the green SOTRACO bus fleet in front of the Bobo-Dioulasso train station in 2019.
I had ridden similar buses with (intermittent) Wi-Fi, fans and a fixed fare and route in Abidjan so I was thrilled to see them up and running in Bobo-Dioulasso. While I didn’t get to ride on one myself to try it out, I did manage to ask some of Bobo residents for an episode of Na baro kè.
Let me know what you think and feel free to share if you had the experience of riding on the bus.
Navigating the paths of knowledge and money in Kong, Côte d'Ivoire.