Kampala public transport law coming, says KCCA boss

Jun 21, 2022

Kampala is a city with a daily workforce of over four million people commuting to and fro work.

Rashid Ssekindi, the chairperson of The Federation of Uganda Taxi Operators (UTOF), speaking TO UTOF Members.

Nelson Kiva
Journalist @New Vision

In a bid to streamline public transport in the city, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director, Dorothy Kisaka has indicated that efforts toward formulating the public transport ordinance were ongoing at City Hall.

The ordinance, according to Kisaka, will, among others, help guide the implementation of public transport regulations in the city.

Kisaka told state and non-state transport stakeholders in the city at a meeting convened at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Friday that the journey to improving the public transport system in the capital was on course.

The meeting among others attracted officials from KCCA, the works and transport ministry, local government ministry, National Planning Authority (NPA) Uganda Police, taxi operators, and bodaboda riders to discuss the city’s transport strategy.

“This is just the beginning of a series of meetings of this nature where we shall carry out consultations and develop solutions that will enable us to have a public transport system that works for all in the city,” Kisaka said.

Dorothy Kisaka

Dorothy Kisaka

In 2018, a multi-modal urban transport master plan for the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) was proposed by the Government among others, to address the problem of traffic jams.

However, its implementation framework which includes phasing out of taxis and bodabodas in favor of bus and railway transit systems meant opposition from critical stakeholders in the transport sector in the city.

The proposed master plan which is part of the second phase of the Kampala Institutional and Infrastructural Development Project (KIIDP) worth $183.7m (about sh693b) funded by the World Bank and the Government of Uganda, also seeks to improve Kampala’s road network and drainage system.

It has for long been a concern of Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago that the lack of an ordinance to regulate the transport sector in the city has left the city authorities to gamble back and forth.

This according to Lukwago has been the source of chaos in the city’s transport sector with unregulated parking of vehicles, motorcycles, and plying routes.

During the meeting, experts gave a general overview of Kampala’s public transport sector and provided solutions and innovative policies for the transformation of public transport in the city.

Unregulated bodaboda riders, accidents, traffic congestion, the poor state of roads, deplorable vehicles, impunity among road users, and leadership wrangles were identified by the meeting as the most pressing challenges to the city.

“We have identified the problems we are grappling with in Kampala which is a good starting point to solving them. As stakeholders we are putting our heads together to solve them,” Kisaka said.

According to KCCA, an estimated 1.5 million people travel primarily using informal minibus matatus 15-seat minibusses and bodaboda motorbikes in the city that lack set routes, schedules, or standardized fares.

“Pick-up and drop-off points shift sporadically, riders face long, unpredictable wait times in sweltering heat or heavy rain and fares fluctuate by as much as 100%,” Kisaka said.

The Kampala Metropolitan Police Traffic commander, Rogers Nsereko, used the occasion to call for a clear enforcement mechanism to be established with all key stakeholders represented and inter-agency arrangements or agreements in place.

“At the moment everyone is giving instructions on how public transport is handled. You hear instructions coming from left, write and center and we do not know what to do. We need to become one voice and KCCA should take the lead and as Police, we will come and support,” Nsereko said.

Eng. David Luyimbazi, the KCCA deputy executive director, suggested the setting up of a working committee on public transport in the city led by the Kampala and metropolitan affairs ministry.

Mustafa Mayambala, the chairman of the Uganda Transport Development Agency, said the Government was losing a lot of revenue because of divided voices about public transport in the city.

Andrew Bugembe, a chairperson of bodaboda riders from Kawempe, asked KCCA to do more sensitization about public transport regulations and their benefits.

“If you want a smooth way of formalizing the bodaboda sector you have to sensitize us. This will help us understand why it is important to have a smart city,” Bugembe said.

Challenge 

Kampala is a city with a daily workforce of over four million people commuting to and fro work.

It, however, faces the challenge of rapid growth in motor traffic compounded by inadequate transport infrastructure which makes the need for an improved public transport system urgent.

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