Government under the Kampala Capital City Authority, KCCA has commenced rehabilitation of the transport terminal known as the Old Taxi Park and has contracted companies (Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd and Kiru General Services Ltd) to commence the works.
The Minister for Kampala Betty Amongi says scope of work will include excavation and disposal of the existing material, installation of underground drainage lines, rock fill, and construction of new foundation layers for the carpet and surfacing of the constructed layers with asphalt concrete (tarmac).
Adding that the new carpet will have markings to delineate areas for parking and for taxi and pedestrian movements. The boundaries of the Park will be retained properly to prevent mud from washing onto the carpet as has been the case.
During a Press conference on Tuesday morning, Amongi notes that there will be lighting and some waiting sheds for passengers, the park will have designated entry and exit points for both vehicles and pedestrians and will have access control for vehicles to avoid queuing on the surrounding roads and congestion within the Park.
“The Park will also have sanitary facilities such as toilets, an administration block and a Police Post. In case the lockdown ends before the works are completed, KCCA shall provide alternative parking areas for the taxis as was with the construction of the New Taxi Park. We appeal to the public to bear with us for the short-lived inconvenience the works may cause” the minister says.
Meanwhile, the minister has urged all leaders, Taxis and Boda Boda operators and all stakeholders to remain calm the ministry and authority continue with consultations on proposed measures to regulate public transport in Kampala.
Recently, fire broke loose when a document was leaked to the media indicating a plan to chase boda boda and taxi operators out of the Central Business District.
But the minister explains that on 6th May 2020, the document being circulated is a draft pending further consultations.
She added that her team has identified key challenges facing the sector which they are consulting stakeholders on and that a final decision will be communicated and implemented after thorough consultations has been concluded.
Hon Amongi mentions the Key issues being consulted on as; Registering Boda Bodas and Taxis operating in the City and creating a digital data base by KCCA for records of those operating in the City; Gazetting Parks, stages, routes and stops for taxis and Boda Bodas. In the case of Taxis, we have so far gazetted 66 Stages including Parks and 137 routes while for Boda Bodas, we have mapped out 970 stages and proposed Gazetting 585 in the five Divisions in the first phase; Introducing route numbers and route colors for all the taxis to enhance order in the business; Introducing Identification of drivers/riders which shall include uniforms and badges for easy identification and tracking for both COVID related tracing and controlling crime; Introducing scheduled Bus services within circular routes of Boda Boda free Zone within the Central Business District (CBD); Supporting Boda Boda riders that are not registered with digital Companies/Associations to either join existing ones, form new Associations or register on their own as individual riders; and Implementation is to be done in close collaboration with the leaders of the Stages/Parks.
