The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has warned that the government’s crackdown on vehicles in Dangerous Mechanical Condition (DMC) could worsen Kampala’s transport crisis, arguing that authorities have not provided adequate alternatives for commuters who depend on taxis.
FDC Deputy President Hassan Kaps Fungaroo said removing large numbers of taxis from the roads without an adequate alternative public transport system would create a shortage of vehicles and inevitably increase transport costs for ordinary commuters.
The party said the additional transport costs would come at a time when households are already struggling with rising fuel prices, taxes and other expenses that are ultimately passed on to passengers.
The FDC also criticised the government for focusing on the mechanical condition of taxis without addressing the poor state of many roads on which the vehicles operate.
Fungaroo cited roads including Natete-Nakawuka-Kasanje and Mpererwe-Kitezi-Buwambo, arguing that even new vehicles would eventually deteriorate if they were repeatedly driven on poor roads.
The opposition party further questioned the government’s failure to establish alternative mass public transport systems that have been promised for Kampala for years.
The FDC cited a 2006 government plan to introduce 400 large buses in Kampala and the National Transport Master Plan for the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, approved in 2009, which proposed reorganising public transport and introducing higher-capacity systems.
According to the FDC, the transport plan expired in 2023 without being fully implemented.
The party also questioned repeated government promises to establish a Greater Kampala Light Rail Mass Transit System, saying the project has featured in National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifestos since 2016 but has yet to be delivered.
Fungaroo said the continued failure to provide reliable alternatives had left old taxis at the centre of Kampala’s public transport system, making it difficult for the government to remove unsafe vehicles without disrupting commuters.
The FDC is demanding answers on what will happen to drivers and conductors who lose their incomes when their taxis are impounded, what will replace the vehicles removed from the roads, when the government will repair roads contributing to vehicle deterioration, and when construction of the promised light rail system will begin.
The opposition party is urging the government to implement the Greater Kampala transport plan and establish reliable mass public transport before fully phasing out unsafe taxis.
It argues that a dependable mass transit system would allow dangerous and unroadworthy taxis to be gradually removed from the roads without creating shortages or imposing additional costs on commuters.
By Charles Katabalwa