THE plan to remove Bodaboda and commuter taxis off the street and introduce a city bus service takes off in February.
It includes planning for the greater Kampala metropolitan area which incorporates Mukono, Mpigi, Bombo, Entebbe, Wakiso and Gayaza.
It also includes directing heavy vehicles away from the city when the northern Bypass is ready, and opening bus and taxi terminals outside the city.
These are part of the preparatory plans to decongest the city ahead of next year’s commonwealth Summit, according to works minister John Nasasira and mayor Nasser Sebaggala.
Kampala City Council (KCC) will also introduce a congestion fee of sh30,000 per vehicle per day, when the buses arrive, Sebaggala said.
“KCC will raise revenue from vehicle owners who may want to drive to town instead of using cheap buses. The introduction of a congestion fee will instill discipline.
“They will have to choose between taking the buses at sh500 per day in the central ring area or use bodaboda for sh2,000 to cover the same distance. The buses will be everywhere and available,” he said.
The plan, Nasasira said, includes convincing truck and lorry drivers carrying goods to enter the city late in the evening, offload and leave the city by 6:00am to avoid traffic jams. These include lorries offloading matooke and other foodstuffs in the city markets.
He said his technocrats had met the mayor and KCC officials over the city’s traffic problem.
“We shall come up with a comprehensive statement on traffic management in the city by February 2007,” Nasasira said.
