Biting taxi fares: Who is to blame?
Jan 18, 2008
YOU clench your teeth or hit your fist hard on the metal. The sweaty, rugged taxi conductor has cheated you. Ordinarily, your shortest journey on a commuter taxi should cost you just sh200. But this time, all your sh1,000 note is gone, simply because the “greedy†conductor and his driver sped of
By Carol Natukunda
YOU clench your teeth or hit your fist hard on the metal. The sweaty, rugged taxi conductor has cheated you. Ordinarily, your shortest journey on a commuter taxi should cost you just sh200. But this time, all your sh1,000 note is gone, simply because the “greedy†conductor and his driver sped off, just before you could demand for your sh800 balance.
Uganda’s commuter taxis are increasingly frustrating hundreds of passengers, as they either fix fares that are way too high or deliberately drive off with the passengers’ money.
“I am spending so much on transport. Even more than I earn,†says Isaac Namanya , a 40-year-old executive who travels from Entebbe to the city center, daily. “Sometimes, you feel like holding this kaconductor and punching him, but you cannot fight with a fool!â€
Unlike other countries where rates are fixed for months or even years, the fares in Kampala or even across the country seem to increase with each new day. A random Saturday Vision sample of the taxi stages in and outside the parks shows that with the fuel crisis, operators charge any amount, often with an increase of sh200 to sh500.
Taxis plying Jinja Road, Kansanga, Kasubi and Ndeeba will charge sh700 up from sh500 just about three weeks ago. Leaving the city centre for Kalerwe, Mulago, Ntinda, Makindye, Kamwokya, Mengo, Bwaise, Namasuba and Kabuusu could cost a sh1,000 from sh700 just about a month ago.
At the same time, going to Mukono was just sh1,300 by mid 2007, but it is now up to about sh1,500 to sh1,800 while for Kampala/Entebbe the charges are sh2,500 from sh2,000 before the fuel crisis.
While the passengers accuse the taxi drivers of being cheats, the drivers in turn blame it on the ever rising fuel prices and traffic jam.
“Do you know how long I spend in the traffic jam, with bad roads?†asks Bosco Kyagulanyi, a driver on the Bweyogerere-Jinja Road route. “Putting one litre of fuel is no longer useful. So what do you do?â€
Kyagulanyi also blames the passengers for being cheats.
“By the time someone jumps on to the taxi, you have already alerted them how much they will have to part with; whether it is sh1,000 or not. And they know it. But after they get on, someone gives you sh500, and jumps out very fast. How do you think we shall recover the money?†he wonders.
The Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) says it is aware of some unscrupulous drivers and conductors, but calls upon the public to be vigilant.
“UTODA has deployed supervisors to ensure that the charges are complied with. The charges are displayed at every stage in the taxi parks, and we expect the public to be vigilant,†says the UTODA chairman John Ndyomugyenyi.
Another official who prefers anonymity says: “The problem is mainly during the peak hours when people are going to or are from work. When the driver asks for any amount, people don’t seem to care at all. They rush in, all at ago, squeezing, instead of refusing to enter until the two parties agree that the fares stays fixed.â€
Earlier in 2007, the association warned that taxi drivers who overcharge passengers will be penalised and the public was asked to report such cases on 0772480883 or 235692. UTODA employs over 100,000 people, and is in charge of 8,000 commuter taxis.
“We are also holding talk shows on FM stations to sensitise both passengers and drivers on the fare issues. Ndyomugyenyi added that the campaign also involved discouraging reckless driving, saying it is the main cause of accidents especially during the festive season. He said they had also put more emphasis on the cleanliness and mechanical conditions of vehicles that ferry passengers.
Ndyomugyenyi explains that fares are not fixed randomly. “When need be, we meet as stakeholders and the transport ministry to plan a way forward,†he says.
There is no regulatory body or passenger protection pressure group to save passengers from being overcharged by taxis. Taxi operators have been left to regulate themselves through UTODA, their umbrella body.
The transport minister, Eng. John Nasasira, says in a liberalised environment, Government does not fix taxi fares, but can only intervene when the situation runs out of hand.
“If people want to be unnecessarily expensive, then you regulate. But you also look at the situation. Sometimes taxi fares are high due to the high demand,†he says.
He, however, advises citizens to be vigilant and report unscrupulous taxis to UTODA.
“Taxi fares should be fair if the situation is okay. Should you be cheated, when demand is normal, contact UTODA,†the minister says.
But as long as there is no regulatory body or pressure group, taxi operators will continue cheating passengers.
YOU clench your teeth or hit your fist hard on the metal. The sweaty, rugged taxi conductor has cheated you. Ordinarily, your shortest journey on a commuter taxi should cost you just sh200. But this time, all your sh1,000 note is gone, simply because the “greedy†conductor and his driver sped off, just before you could demand for your sh800 balance.
Uganda’s commuter taxis are increasingly frustrating hundreds of passengers, as they either fix fares that are way too high or deliberately drive off with the passengers’ money.
“I am spending so much on transport. Even more than I earn,†says Isaac Namanya , a 40-year-old executive who travels from Entebbe to the city center, daily. “Sometimes, you feel like holding this kaconductor and punching him, but you cannot fight with a fool!â€
Unlike other countries where rates are fixed for months or even years, the fares in Kampala or even across the country seem to increase with each new day. A random Saturday Vision sample of the taxi stages in and outside the parks shows that with the fuel crisis, operators charge any amount, often with an increase of sh200 to sh500.
Taxis plying Jinja Road, Kansanga, Kasubi and Ndeeba will charge sh700 up from sh500 just about three weeks ago. Leaving the city centre for Kalerwe, Mulago, Ntinda, Makindye, Kamwokya, Mengo, Bwaise, Namasuba and Kabuusu could cost a sh1,000 from sh700 just about a month ago.
At the same time, going to Mukono was just sh1,300 by mid 2007, but it is now up to about sh1,500 to sh1,800 while for Kampala/Entebbe the charges are sh2,500 from sh2,000 before the fuel crisis.
While the passengers accuse the taxi drivers of being cheats, the drivers in turn blame it on the ever rising fuel prices and traffic jam.
“Do you know how long I spend in the traffic jam, with bad roads?†asks Bosco Kyagulanyi, a driver on the Bweyogerere-Jinja Road route. “Putting one litre of fuel is no longer useful. So what do you do?â€
Kyagulanyi also blames the passengers for being cheats.
“By the time someone jumps on to the taxi, you have already alerted them how much they will have to part with; whether it is sh1,000 or not. And they know it. But after they get on, someone gives you sh500, and jumps out very fast. How do you think we shall recover the money?†he wonders.
The Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) says it is aware of some unscrupulous drivers and conductors, but calls upon the public to be vigilant.
“UTODA has deployed supervisors to ensure that the charges are complied with. The charges are displayed at every stage in the taxi parks, and we expect the public to be vigilant,†says the UTODA chairman John Ndyomugyenyi.
Another official who prefers anonymity says: “The problem is mainly during the peak hours when people are going to or are from work. When the driver asks for any amount, people don’t seem to care at all. They rush in, all at ago, squeezing, instead of refusing to enter until the two parties agree that the fares stays fixed.â€
Earlier in 2007, the association warned that taxi drivers who overcharge passengers will be penalised and the public was asked to report such cases on 0772480883 or 235692. UTODA employs over 100,000 people, and is in charge of 8,000 commuter taxis.
“We are also holding talk shows on FM stations to sensitise both passengers and drivers on the fare issues. Ndyomugyenyi added that the campaign also involved discouraging reckless driving, saying it is the main cause of accidents especially during the festive season. He said they had also put more emphasis on the cleanliness and mechanical conditions of vehicles that ferry passengers.
Ndyomugyenyi explains that fares are not fixed randomly. “When need be, we meet as stakeholders and the transport ministry to plan a way forward,†he says.
There is no regulatory body or passenger protection pressure group to save passengers from being overcharged by taxis. Taxi operators have been left to regulate themselves through UTODA, their umbrella body.
The transport minister, Eng. John Nasasira, says in a liberalised environment, Government does not fix taxi fares, but can only intervene when the situation runs out of hand.
“If people want to be unnecessarily expensive, then you regulate. But you also look at the situation. Sometimes taxi fares are high due to the high demand,†he says.
He, however, advises citizens to be vigilant and report unscrupulous taxis to UTODA.
“Taxi fares should be fair if the situation is okay. Should you be cheated, when demand is normal, contact UTODA,†the minister says.
But as long as there is no regulatory body or pressure group, taxi operators will continue cheating passengers.