Transport paralysed over speed gadgets

Feb 14, 2007

TRANSPORT up-country was paralysed yesterday and taxi fares shot up as the deadline for fixing speed governors had expired. Taxi drivers who had not yet complied with the new regulations removed their vehicles off the road, fearing they would be impounded.

By Steven Candia
And Madinah Tebajjukira

TRANSPORT up-country was paralysed yesterday and taxi fares shot up as the deadline for fixing speed governors had expired. Taxi drivers who had not yet complied with the new regulations removed their vehicles off the road, fearing they would be impounded.

Up-country routes were hardest hit, with hardly any taxis or busses to ferry the travellers.

In Kampala, the transport crunch could be felt from early morning, with long lines of stranded commuters and school children at taxi stages.

Taxi touts capitalised on the situation by hiking the fares, infuriating passengers.
A commuter in Luzira attacked the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association for failing to rein in taxi operators.

“They have failed to harmonise the fares and enforce them. Why should they continue enjoying the monopoly? The Government should open up the space to allow other players to come in. Maybe that way we will be protected.”

Many taxi drivers in the city and the suburbs avoided the main roads in a bid to escape possible police swoops.
Reports of another extension of the deadline were denied by the Police.

“To the best of my knowledge, the grace period ended and we will enforce the regulation. No motorist has any excuse now for not having installed a speed governor,” Steven Kasiima, the Commissioner of police in charge of Traffic and Road Safety, said.

In other parts of the country, taxi drivers opposed to the regulation went on strike for several hours. One such strike, in Mityana, paralysed transport on the Mubende-Mityana and Kampala highway.

By 8:00am, there was only one Kampala-bound taxi at the usually bustling Mityana Taxi Park. However, the riled drivers later called off the strike, promising to fit their vehicles with the gadgets with time. In Kampala, installation centres for speed governors were overwhelmed by the huge number of vehicles.

At the Safe Rider installation centre over 30 vehicles were parked by mid-day waiting to be fitted with speed governors.

Fares to several destinations up-country increased as a result of the new regulation.

Kampala-Mbarara went up from sh10,000 to sh12,000. Taxis to Soroti charged sh10,000 instead of the usual sh8,000, while passengers travelling to Bushenyi had to part with sh13,000, up from the normal sh11,000.

“We have increased each route by sh2,000 because of the longer time we spend on the way,” explained bus conductor George Musinguzi.

“Before the speed governors were fixed in our vehicles, it would take us two and a half hours to reach Mbarara. Now we spend close to five hours.”

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