Boda riders applaud Museveni for keeping licencing fee promise

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Boda boda riders have hailed President Yoweri Museveni for fulfilling his promise to reduce the fees for the riders’ licences.

They said that riders having no permits has been the major cause of accidents on the road as they manoeuvred to avoid being arrested by the traffic police for riding on the road without a riding licence.

Charles Nduggwa, the vice chairman of boda boda riders in Kampala Central Division, said that "the reason we have not been respecting a number of traffic regulations and guidelines, especially the traffic lights, is because we did not want to be arrested and, as a result, many of our colleagues and passengers have lost their arms and legs, and some have even lost their lives."

Nduggwa added that it has been unfair for a rider who only carries one passenger to pay the same licencing fees as that of a driver of a 14-seater taxi or even a bus driver who carries 64 passengers.

He urged all boda boda riders to embrace this window of opportunity the government has created for them and get riding licences.

Frank Mawejje, the chairperson of Kampala under the boda boda leadership, cautioned the bodaboda riders against using agents and brokers to get the permit to avoid being cheated and instead advised them to use their respective offices for help.

He said that some driving schools may take advantage of this situation and cheat the riders.

"These driving schools have become brokers for riding licences and end up increasing the fees. So, we want the riders to avoid them and go through their offices."

Mawejje also asked the licence-issuing agencies to have a special arrangement for the riders at the issuing centres across the country to avoid congestion and delays for the riders.

The Ministry of Works and Transport, through the Uganda Security Printing Company Ltd., issued new driving licence fees for boda boda and other motorcycle categories (A, A1, B1).

Class A permits cover motorcycles with no sidecar, Class A1 is for motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 125cc, and Class B1 is designated for motorised tricycles and quadricycles.

According to the ministry, the new fees for the learner's licence are sh40,000, while the new/full license will go for sh100,000, sh130,000, and sh250,000 for one year, three years, and five years respectively.