Several passengers were on Thursday left stranded as only a few taxis resumed operations in the city while several other unregistered passenger service vehicles (PSV) got impounded by police.
June 4 was the first time public transport was allowed back on the roads countrywide after being banned in March this year in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Taxis and buses were allowed to resume operations provided they are registered and assigned channel routes. They are also supposed to carry only half of their normal passenger capacity and it's also mandatory for everyone travelling in a public vehicle to wear a face mask, including the driver and conductor.
Scores of passengers remained stranded on the roadside as only a few taxis plied the various city routes. The situation was almost similar in parts of Gayaza, Bukoto, Ntinda, Wandegeya and Kamwokya, in the outskirts of the city.
Joan Birungi, a resident of Kamwokya, who was heading to town for work, says she had spent two hours at the stage waiting for a taxi in vain. Birungi says that she was previously walking to work or was being transported up by her boss.
"My boss has been picking me at work but I'm also on the way to check on how the taxis are moving so I can move on my own without my boss. The taxis are still few, people are broke and majority are still footing…If the taxis fail to appear, for me I will again call on my boss to either pick me or I stay home. I have taken like two hours without a taxi," she said.
Keziron Mulindwa, who has been moving every day from Kamwokya to Rubaga for work says that he had spent over one hour at the Kamwokya stage waiting for the taxi in vain. He said previously without public transport, his bosses allowed him to start work at whatever time he reached office.
Ronald Kironde, a taxi owner says that he was excited with the reopening of public transport, but was frustrated by delays to register his vehicle. He says that the call for registration was on short notice. By Wednesday, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) had registered 500 taxis.
Passengers travelling upcountry who had gone to the New and Old Taxi parks as early as 6 am to get taxis also remained stranded until 10 an when the first taxis started streaming in. Joel Mugabi an employee with National Water and Sewerage Cooperation says he spent more than an hour waiting for the taxi. Mugabe says he wants to travel immediately to meet his sick family in Jinja.
At the New Taxi Park, Silver Mugabi, a taxi driver at the Jinja stage, says that many of his colleagues could not leave their homes before 6:30 am. Mugabe wants the government to relax the curfew hours but also allow taxis to operate as they undertake registration. Mugabi accused government officials of being insensitive to the plight of ordinary people in need of public transport.
Jinja Taxi Drivers and Operator's Association (JITOA) asked President Museveni to adjust the curfew time from 7 pm to 10 pm because the curfew times limit them to one route per day.
The association says if the 7 pm-6.30 am curfew remains as it has been over the last two months, many of the operators are unlikely to make ends meet in terms of daily earnings. Ali Mudoola, a driver from Bugiri says there are 21 taxi drivers along the Jinja-Bugiri route and all of them cannot have passengers on their return to Jinja.
"Although we are limited to eight passengers on board, there are many drivers plying on this route and it is hard for all of us to complete a single route in just 12 hours per day," he says.
Joseph Bagenda, a driver from Jinja to Mukono says that, due to the hiked transport fares, taxi operators are likely to spend over an hour loading passengers. He says with such limitation, most drivers will not be able to operate within the curfew deadline.
Farouk Jomba, a driver from Kampala stage says with the heavy traffic jam along Jinja-Kampala highway, many of the drivers can not make a round trip within the curfew deadlines. Sulah Kalevu fears that many of them are likely to end up in losses if they can not make a round trip given the high fuel prices.
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