Navigating Dakar is no small feat. There are many main roads, but most people live on side roads that are too small for cars or buses to properly navigate. There are several options for getting around on the main roads, including taxis, several types of public buses, and even horse-drawn carts all of which I'll get into below.
Most people take car rapides, which are privately owned colorful buses that go all over the city. You have to ask the driver before getting on to see where it's going. There are also "Ta-Tas," blue and white buses which are slightly larger than car-rapides, but much more regulated (by which I mean Ta-Tas are labeled by route so you know where you're going without asking). Another very popular public transit option is the Dakar Dem Dikk, which is the government-regulate public bus. There are formal bus stops with numbered routes for each bus.
It's still a bit hard to figure out the routes and schedules, but the Dakar Dem Dikk is by far the most regulated and reliable public transportation option in the city. Each of these options costs between 100 and 600 CFA (from about 15 cents to a dollar in US currency), with the car rapide being the cheapest option. There is also the option to ride a horse-drawn cart, which is mostly used to make deliveries of rice or vegetables to food vendors.
