Latest Kampala City Mayor Elect Al Hajji Nasser Sebaggala’s plan to initiate a bus transportation system in the city will go ahead as programmed today in spite of protests from Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association.
Sebaggala notified jubilant supporters at his victory party at Gaba over the weekend that no one would stop him from implementing his plan to systematize the city by replacing commuter taxis with buses.
When contacted at City Hall yesterday, Sebaggala said the plan would go ahead as scheduled because it was for the good of the people of Kampala.
In an interview, he said that this plan was focused on reducing the costs of transportation with traffic jam problems. He added that Passengers will need to buy only one ticket for the day or for a month The buses owned by Pioneer Easy Bus Limited would be launched at a function to be held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel today evening, where some of the buses would be on display.
However, Utoda vice chairman Mr Chris Ssengooba yesterday said that the Uganda Taxi association was not ready to leave the city anyhow. He complemented that there was no problem with having another bus company working in the city since Uganda is a free market economy.
Utoda, which Kampala City Council has contracted for several years to manage both the New and Old taxi parks pays KCC about Shs290 million per month.
Appearing on a talk show on one of the local FM stations on Saturday, Sebaggala said Utoda had become a clique of a few people to make money, while the public, the owners and drivers of the taxis had not benefited from the business. He declined to reveal details about neither the proprietors of the bus company nor where the buses were coming from.
Presently, some 3,500 commuter taxis ply the city streets daily to transport a daytime population of more than 2 million people. Sebaggala said he wanted taxis out of the city as a measure to cut down on the traffic congestion and accidents, which he says have become a big problem in the city, especially during peak hours. He said the body plans to construct five parks along the major city feeder roads in every division to reduce traffic in the city centre. The parks are planned in on Jinja, Masaka, Hoima and Bombo roads.
300 buses have been ordered over the next few months, the first batch of which has already arrived. However, Ssengooba said Utoda was in advanced plans to reduce the number of commuter taxis in the central business zone by December this year.
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