Private transporters say willing govt partnership to decongest Kampala

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Private transport operators have expressed willingness to work with the Government and development partners to decongest Kampala city and reduce pollution.

To tackle congestion, the Government says it is planning to introduce an electric metro rail system, while encouraging operators to adopt electric motorcycles and buses for both commercial and personal use.

Moses Mawejje, the spokesperson of the Uganda Taxi Operators Federation (UTOF), which claims over 100,000 members nationwide, welcomed the shift towards electric transport.

“I believe private vehicles are the greatest cause of traffic jams because they carry fewer passengers than us,” Mawejje said.

He suggested that cars carrying fewer than 14 passengers be restricted from entering the city to ease traffic. Nonetheless, he noted that taxi operators support modernisation efforts such as electric buses and rail.

Edson Ahimbisibwe, a bodaboda rider and Nakawa divisional secretary, attributed the city’s jams partly to inadequate traffic Police manpower.

“The metro system is good and can eliminate traffic jams, but unfortunately, it is not present everywhere,” he said. 

Ahimbisibwe, a resident of Kirinya, added that his area lacks railway access and that frequent power outages disrupt incomes for riders using electric motorcycles.

Both transporters made their remarks on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, during a stakeholders’ dialogue on sustainable urban transportation planning, held at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) annexe in Bugolobi, Kampala.

The event, supported by the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RiF), provided a platform for research dissemination, policy dialogue, and stakeholder engagement on Kampala’s transport future.

The project team was led by Dr Ismael Nkambwe, the principal investigator at MUBS, alongside Ass. Prof. Saadat Kimuli Nakyejwe, Dr Eng. Ismail K. Kiiza (Makerere CEDAT) and graduate researcher Nashua Nabaggala.

Unified urban transport policy

According to Nkambwe, Kampala lacks a unified urban transport policy to guide sustainable solutions. Prof. Kimuli explained that their research used a mixed-method design, combining commuter surveys with stakeholder interviews and quantitative modelling.

Over 350 commuters and operators from the districts of Kampala, Mukono, Mpigi and Luwero participated in the survey, while over 25 stakeholders, including SafeBoda, UTOF, KCCA, NEMA, and Uganda Railways Corporation, shared perspectives on readiness and integration.

Key findings showed that informal sector actors, such as taxi and bodaboda associations, view the metro as a complementary rather than competing service. They expressed willingness to integrate into a multi-modal system if engaged and supported.

Representing the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Julius Serunjogi, manager of the central region industrial parks, revealed that Namanve alone receives over 1,000 trucks daily serving 400 industries.

He admitted that industrial parks contribute significantly to congestion but supported the metro proposal as a long-term solution.

Mak-RiF’s communications officer, Winne Kyamulabi, congratulated the project team on reaching this milestone.

“For us at Mak-RiF, dissemination is a way of showcasing results that solve everyday problems for Ugandans,” she said.

Established in 2019, Mak-RiF funds locally-driven innovations and research for national development.

The study concluded that Kampala’s gridlock costs commuters’ productive hours daily, increases emissions, and undermines Uganda’s climate goals, making sustainable, electrified transport systems urgent and necessary.