Transportation in Addis

Practical Travel Info: Transportation in Addis

There are several transportation options in Addis.  We chose the Weygoss b/c we could walk to a lot of places and are glad we did.  There are also buses, mini buses, taxis, and hiring private drivers. I think that you would need to be clinically insane to try and rent a car in Addis.  It is expensive, and the driving is crazy.  Meskel Square literally has like 27 lanes of traffic that come together with NO TRAFFIC LIGHT (not in a round about, it’s like a K-shaped intersection) and occasionally donkeys or sheep walk across it—‘nough said!

Walking: If you can choke down the smog that flows from vehicles in Addis like water and if you are savvy enough to avoid pickpockets and can deal with beggars, walking is a great option.  Violent crime is very low in Addis and we never felt unsafe in that way at all (remember we are somewhat grizzled New Yorkers thoughJ)  The pickpockets are annoying, but pretty easy to avoid if you know what to look for (kids with boxes who are trying to “sell something” and group of kids with nothing to do are the main culprits—kids shining shoes, selling books or maps,  or selling lottery tickets are not usually an issue beyond heckling you to buy something).  Beggars range from annoying to absolutely heartbreaking.  Make up your mid before you go outside if you want to give them money or not.  We found the best options were to fold 1, 5, or 10 birr into a very small shape and drop on their lap surreptitiously or to put it in a bag of food.  If you are obvious that you are giving money to a beggar, many more will pursue you.  Walking is great, and was often our preferred method of transport for trips of approx. 1 mile or less.  If you have asthma like me, bring your inhalers!  Between the smog and the elevation it can be tough going sometimes.

(For the first few weeks, and always for longer distances, I would carry B in the Boba carrier.  I think any stroller except maybe big rugged jogging strollers with thorn resistant innertube tires would be pretty much useless here.  If you have two little kids and it’s just you, maybe try carrying one on your front and one on your back, or possibly bring a Bob Revolution or Baby Jogger and see if they can work.  We saw several people with McClarens and pretty much laughed at them, as they carried the stroller more than they pushed it!).

Buses: Do not take the red/orange city buses if you can help it.  There is a lot of petty crime on them and farengi (foreigners) are not usually treated well.

MiniBuses: The blue and white mini busses are AWESOME!  The fare is approx. 2.60 Birr to anywhere the bus you are on goes (no free transfers, so if you change busses you have to pay a new fare).  The drivers don’t often speak much English, but you can usually communicate the route you want.  We often used the Bole Road (runs down Bole away from Meskel Square), Mexico Square, and Mekanissa (this was the route to the International Evangelical Church) busses.  They are cheap, relatively fast, and come frequently.  The biggest drawback is that they can be CROWED (think 16+ people in an 11 passenger van with several people also carrying children).  When you want to get off tell the operator “gurage” (sounds like garage but with a “u”).  There is often at least one passenger who speaks English, so if the operator doesn’t know where you want to go see if any of your fellow passengers can understand you.

Cabs-Taxis are everywhere.  They can be yellow or blue and white.  Our area of Bole Road had mostly Blue and white cabs.  Negotiate a price with a driver before you get in and know landmarks near where you want to go as drivers often won’t know where exactly it is, especially if you are going to places that ferengi go but locals don’t.  You can get most places in Addis for around 40-100 Birr each way depending on how hard you negotiate.  If you tell the driver you want round-trip it is cheaper and they don’t mind waiting.  E.g. if you want to go to Island Breeze restaurant which is in the Piazza area near the old post office a driver might say 100 birr each way, but will happily accept 170 birr round trip including waiting for 2 hours while you eat.  Do not pay them anything until you have completed your return tripJ Our most frequent cab driver was named Marshahl and he waits at the cab stand by New York New York.

Drivers-We didn’t hire a driver until we’d been in Addis for about 5 weeks.  We walked or mini-bussed everywhere, or took an occasional cab.  If you want to get out of Addis though, a driver is best.  Also, if you want to go up Entoto Mountain, but sure to confirm your driver and their vehicle can make it up there as many can not!  Like cabs, negotiate a rate a head of time (usually a half-day or a whole day rate) and don’t pay anything until you are back home.  When we were in Addis, a half-day rate was approx. 300-500 birr and full day was 500-700+ depending on your negotiating and the driver.  You could get less, but the vehicle/driver was often not so great.  Most drivers have vans so if you chip in with friends you can have a pretty affordable outing. The driver we used mostly was named Melkamu.

For longer trips (like to Awassa) check-out sky bus which is an upscale bus option.  That’s what we were going to take if we went on our planned trip to Awassa and Aregash Lodge (which never happened due to delays by our agency that kept us in Addis far longer than necessary).