KCCA issues taxi route chart for the newly renovated Old Taxi Park ahead of reopening

Taxis heading to the Entebbe Road that had been moved to Usafi shall not return to the Old Taxi Park even after the reopening.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has given a route chart for taxi’s drivers and operators to follow ahead of the park’s reopening slated for May-22nd-2021.while they offer transport services to Ugandans.

The guidelines were given taxi operators during a closed door meeting with Authority officials that happened on Tuesday at City Hall.

According to Authority officials, the route chart is to help guide taxi operators and driver offer the best transport services to Ugandans.

Taxis heading to the Entebbe Road that had been moved to Usafi shall not return to the Old Taxi Park even after the reopening.

KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka told Journalists after the meeting that the purpose of the meeting was to identify areas of concern in the park and forge a way forward.

The issue regarding a route chart featured largely during the meeting as taxi operators wondered which taxis would operate in the 50- year old Park as it reopens.

Dorothy adds that they also discussed how to harmonize governance of the park amidst existence of multiple associations all claiming to be unifying bodies for the operators.

“We want to keep a close working relationship with stakeholders to ensure that the Park is well managed, government policies like taxes are respected and that there is order in the City,” she said.

Mustafa Mayambala, the Chairman of Uganda Transport Development Agency (UTRADA) says that they have agreed with KCCA that taxi operators form a committee that shall work with the authority to streamline issues of Park Management.

“I’m optimistic that when KCCA engages the conflicting groups in their planning, it shall aid smooth operations of the Park and promote orderliness in the city,” he said.

Gard Mugisha, the Chairman Taxi Owners Association tasked KCCA to remove all taxis operating in non-gazzetted areas like streets.

He says while some taxis operate in the park others are left to wait for passengers on the streets something that puts taxis in the parks at a disadvantage.

The renovated park shall accommodate only 344 out of the 450 that were previously there. KCCA has therefore asked operators to identify a place to keep their taxis as they wait to access the Park.

KCCA also plans to introduce a digital system that enables only taxis whose turn it is to load passengers to come to the Park such that taxis do not congest the park waiting to load passengers.