KCCA sets tough terms for UTODA

By Brian Mayanja

A week after Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) granted a one-year permit to Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers (UTODA) to operate buses on designated routes, the authority has set terms for its operations.

Under the new terms signed by Judith Tumusiime, the deputy city executive director, the bus company is expected to remit a monthly fee of sh300,000 per bus.

KCCA staff are also authorised to access the management systems of the bus company to monitor the fare collection and number of passengers using the buses.

There are 30 buses which will operate on Gayaza Road via Wandegeya up to the Wampewo roundabout. And in case a bus want to deviate from the designated route, permission has to be sought from KCCA.

Meanwhile, say 100 more buses will be imported. “We have a contract with Taata Co. Ltd to supply more buses before the end of March 2014.We want each city route to have 30 buses,” said Henry Ssentongo, the UTODA spokesperson.

This is a second bus company to be granted a permit to operate in the city, after Pioneer Easy Bus, whose operation was stopped in February for failure to clear a sh8b tax debt.

Asked whether they would not face the same problem, Ssentongo said they had already paid URA between sh40m and sh60m depending on the size of the bus.

“We have been in public transport business for over 20 years. When we were importing commuter taxis, URA never impounded them because of failure to pay taxes,” he explained.

KCCA has also directed UTODA to maintain the proposed fares while applying for permission to join the business. While, applying for the permit last year, officials disclosed that passengers shall use cards to pay their fares.

A card costs sh1,000. After buying the card a passenger can load any amount of money. However, the minimum is sh1,200 for a single route. If one wants to be able to use the bus for a whole day, the fare is sh2,000 and sh10,000 for a week.

“Only those with loaded travel bus cards are allowed to enter the bus,” Ronald Kizito a driver said.

And, incase the card was stolen or misplaced, one would simply have to report the serial number to the authorities. Then the machines would be able to detect it. “It is impossible to access our services freely,” Sentongo said.