Waiting Together: The Motorcycle Taxi Stand as Nairobi Infrastructure

In this article, we describe the associational life of one motorcycle taxi (boda boda) stand in Nairobi to investigate what "waiting together" means for the riders. By discussing the practices and discursive framings of collective practice among them, as well as exploring the spatial dimension of the boda boda stand itself, we consider the way that the riders' togetherness fluctuates between more contingent and more durable forms. Expanding on social theory's interest in how solidarity is mediated through work and social obligation, we argue that waiting together generates social and institutional bonds, but in ways that are highly vulnerable to disintegration. The boda boda stand mediates between the individualizing impulses generated by entrepreneurial ideology and the need to manage the labor and risks of privately provided public transport.