Bus terminal at Nateete does not make sense
Oct 05, 2006
Kampala City Council (KCC) has directed that all buses plying the western route park at the new Nateete terminal. This is meant to decongest the city.
Kampala City Council (KCC) has directed that all buses plying the western route park at the new Nateete terminal. This is meant to decongest the city.
To begin with, it is interesting that KCC has never approved the building of the terminal, according to Bernard Luyiga, the chairman of the KCC production and marketing committee. The bus owners and operators have defied the directive and ignored the Nateete terminal. One does not need to be a transport consultant to observe that far from solving the problem, the decision will definitely aggravate it. Why?
There are about 50 buses on the western Uganda route and passengers disembarking at Nateete are expected to be transported by taxi to the city centre. A bus carries up to 70 passengers and several tonnes of luggage. To get the same number of people to Kampala, it would require five taxis and two light pick-up trucks. In effect, if the bus stopped in Nateete, we would have seven vehicles (instead of one bus) moving to the city centre. And KCC calls that de-congestion! It would be more expensive and more cumbersome for the passengers.
There will be intolerable pressure on the Nateete-Kampala Road because people will be travelling to Nateete from all directions in Kampala to catch the buses while others will be disembarking heading for Kampala. This arrangement would only make sense if there was a ring road from Nateete connecting it with other suburbs without going through the city centre. Or likewise, if a bigger vessel (like a train) was taking over from the buses. At the moment, neither exists. How does one get to Bweyogerere, from Nateete without going through Kampala? How does one get to Ntinda, Naalya and Namugongo without using the Nateete-Kampala road?
Kampala is not a very flattering example of urban planning. It was not by coincidence that the Uganda Transport Company and People’s Company were directly opposite the taxi park. The rationale was that passengers from the bus terminal would cross over to the taxi park and commute to their destinations. Unfortunately, what used to be the bus park was sold off because the government transport companies were not making profit. Why throw away the baby with the bath water? Wouldn’t it have been more reasonable to change the management of the transport companies instead of changing the use of the site.
Ends
To begin with, it is interesting that KCC has never approved the building of the terminal, according to Bernard Luyiga, the chairman of the KCC production and marketing committee. The bus owners and operators have defied the directive and ignored the Nateete terminal. One does not need to be a transport consultant to observe that far from solving the problem, the decision will definitely aggravate it. Why?
There are about 50 buses on the western Uganda route and passengers disembarking at Nateete are expected to be transported by taxi to the city centre. A bus carries up to 70 passengers and several tonnes of luggage. To get the same number of people to Kampala, it would require five taxis and two light pick-up trucks. In effect, if the bus stopped in Nateete, we would have seven vehicles (instead of one bus) moving to the city centre. And KCC calls that de-congestion! It would be more expensive and more cumbersome for the passengers.
There will be intolerable pressure on the Nateete-Kampala Road because people will be travelling to Nateete from all directions in Kampala to catch the buses while others will be disembarking heading for Kampala. This arrangement would only make sense if there was a ring road from Nateete connecting it with other suburbs without going through the city centre. Or likewise, if a bigger vessel (like a train) was taking over from the buses. At the moment, neither exists. How does one get to Bweyogerere, from Nateete without going through Kampala? How does one get to Ntinda, Naalya and Namugongo without using the Nateete-Kampala road?
Kampala is not a very flattering example of urban planning. It was not by coincidence that the Uganda Transport Company and People’s Company were directly opposite the taxi park. The rationale was that passengers from the bus terminal would cross over to the taxi park and commute to their destinations. Unfortunately, what used to be the bus park was sold off because the government transport companies were not making profit. Why throw away the baby with the bath water? Wouldn’t it have been more reasonable to change the management of the transport companies instead of changing the use of the site.
Ends