KAMPALA BUS STRIKE PARALYZES TRANSPORT BUSINESS

Thousands of people are stranded with their language in the bus parks of Kampala due to the ongoing strikes that have so far unfolded into commotion and leaving thousands unemployed, the strike doesn’t seem to have an ending coming soon.

What began as a protest against increased parking taxes has rapidly escalated into a situation of dire proportions. Bus operators, unable to absorb the extra financial burden, had no choice but to raise bus fares to cover the mounting costs. However, the unintended consequences of this decision are now unfolding, impacting the very livelihoods of the people these buses serve.

The heart of this crisis lies in the fact that the steep hike in bus fares has rendered transportation unaffordable for a significant portion of the population. As a result, bus parks are filled with stranded travelers who desperately need to commute to their workplaces/ homes or do business in areas outside Kampala. This predicament has had a cascading effect on the economy, leaving thousands of workers jobless because they simply cannot reach their places of employment.

With no buses in operation, various industries are grappling with the fallout. From factory workers to employees, bus conductor’s business entrepreneurs bus cleaners, and every other sector or franchise that has been built along this means of transport has been highly affected.

As the Strike enters day three, operators maintain that something must be done about the operational costs which KCCA doesn’t seem to buy. In the New KCCA law, a charge of Shs 2.4Million is taken from each bus annually. On top of this, Operators are also required to pay Central Government 1.5 Million which goes to Passenger Service Vehicle License and 1.3Million as Advance Income Tax to URA, not forgetting, every single Bus Operator pays 50,000 Uganda shillings to bus terminal owners for each exit.

These new changes were bound to spark a strike to which Taxi drivers took advantage of and hiked the prices of transport fare due to high demand. Government has requested passengers not to board Taxis that are charging high transport fares leaving many stranded in the Parks.