Public transportation in Bamako

When I was in Bamako, I almost always used the Sotrama. Those are the green minibuses you see all around the city. The fare is MUCH cheaper than a taxi - usually between 150CFA to 250CFA depending on how far you're going. 150 can get you pretty far. The "apprentigi" (the boys who hang out the side of the bus and let people on and off, and collect money) will call out the name of the destination as it passes people on the street. You have to flag them down, usually calling out where you want to go.
It can be pretty confusing at first. When I first lived there, if I had a day with nothing to do, I rode the storamas around to figure out their routes. You can get just about anywhere you want, and they'll stop anywhere you want (within reason) but you usually have to be willing to walk a little. If you're on a super tight schedule, a taxi is usually worth the extra 1000CFA or so. Be careful though - the apprentigis can be aggressive, and will sometimes say they're going somewhere that they aren't just to make a little money. This is actually pretty common.
As far as safety, the sotramas vary a lot in body condition. Some are pretty nice, while in others, you could get a splinter on the jagged wooden seat, haha. The drivers themselves also vary a lot. Basically, you never know. It's a risk no matter what.  One good thing I will say for the Bamako minbuses, though, is that I have rarely seen them exceed the passenger capacity (which is whatever they've decided on, it's often written somewhere in the bus). It's definitely super tight in there. You'll be practically sitting on someone. But they'll never fill it so much that people are standing -- that was very common in Conakry.
In the end, I always took the sotrama because it's SO much cheaper than taxis and can be a quick way to get around, and meet some interesting characters. It's also a great way to get to know Bamako!

Hello MLmolly!

Thanks a lot for your help
It is much appreciated.

Regards
Armand

Hey MLmolly!

Thanks a lot for your contribution!
I know this thread is pretty old so you might not even look at this website but just in case you do, I wanted to know where you lived when you were in Bamako. I've considered taking randomnly the sotrama like you did so it assured me in my idea but one of the (many) reasons why I haven't tried yet is because I live on the edge of the city, by the third bridge in the east of the city(I'm actually almost out of my little map).
So I was just wondering if you lived quite in the city center or if you were as well not too close. And also if you had example of where you'd go.

Thanks in advance!

Hi frenchval,

Please note that this is an old thread dated 2011 and MLmolly may not reply you.

I invite you to create a new discussion and ask your questions directly on the Bamako forum, i am sure that you will receive some more help .

Thank you,

Priscilla
Expat.com team