  A number of normal state transport properties of cuprate superconductors are
analyzed in detail using the Boltzmann equation. The momentum dependence of the
electronic structure and the strong momentum anisotropy of the electronic
scattering are included in a phenomenological way via a multi-patch model. The
Brillouin zone and the Fermi surface are divided in regions where scattering
between the electrons is strong and the Fermi velocity is low (hot patches) and
in regions where the scattering is weak and the Fermi velocity is large (cold
patches). We present several motivations for this phenomenology starting from
various microscopic approaches. A solution of the Boltzmann equation in the
case of N patches is obtained and an expression for the distribution function
away from equilibrium is given. Within this framework, and limiting our
analysis to the two patches case, the temperature dependence of resistivity,
thermoelectric power, Hall angle, magnetoresistance and thermal Hall
conductivity are studied in a systematic way analyzing the role of the patch
geometry and the temperature dependence of the scattering rates. In the case of
Bi-based cuprates, using ARPES data for the electronic structure, and assuming
an inter-patch scattering between hot and cold states with a linear temperature
dependence, a reasonable agreement with the available experiments is obtained.
