As boda bodas resume operations today July 27, government has demarcated operation stages and boda boda free zones where they are not allowed to operate.
According to the minister for KCCA and Metropolitan Affairs, Betty Amongi, cabinet approved 579 boda boda stages in Kampala spread through the five divisions of Kampala. The Central division has 32 stages, Kawempe 89 stages, Makindye 136 stages, Nakawa 146 stages while Rubaga division has 179 stages.
Each gazetted stage has a unique reference code, for instance, Bukesa stage 1001, Bukesa stage 1002 and Industrial Area 1007 among others and this will be the stage name.
According to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) all boda boda operators must be registered at any of the gazetted stages and this shall be their address to enable contact tracing in case of any COVID-19 infection. No boda boda is allowed to operate outside the gazetted stages.
Boda boda operators are required to register at any gazetted stage of their choice, while all Boda boda App companies like Safe Boda, Bolt and Uber and associations like Century Boda, shall share with KCCA the register of all their members after registering every member to a gazetted stage.
All boda bodas riders who do not operate or belong to the App companies or associations shall register with KCCA through their stage leadership. Forms can be downloaded from the KCCA website or picked from ward administrators at every KCCA division and no fees payment is required in the entire process.
KCCA also says cabinet has further approved boda boda free zones where boda bodas are prohibited from entering or accessing. The free zone is based in Central division explaining why there are only 32 stages gazetted here.
The boda boda free zone will run along the following boundaries; Wampewo Roundabout to Jinja Road to Kitgum House junction – Access Road – Mukwano Road to Clock Tower–Kafumbe Mukasa Road–Kisenyi Road–Mackay Road-Kyaggwe Road-Watoto Church-Bombo Road–Wandegeya – Hajji Musa Kasule Road-Mulago roundabout- Kamwokya junction – Sturrock Road – Prince Charles Drive- Lugogo Bypass–Jinja Road- Wampewo Roundabout.
Only utility and delivery service motorcycles shall be allowed in the boda boda free zone area. KCCA is also procuring boda boda stage signs to mark the gazetted stages permanently and traffic signs to demarcate the boda boda free zones as approved by cabinet.
As they resume operations on Monday, boda bodas are required to abide by the standard operating procedures of having a helmet and mask, registering passengers and sanitizing passengers and the seat each time they get a passenger.
Since the suspension of public transport in March this year, boda bodas have only been allowed to carry cargo. Taxi operations resumed in June also after registration and acquisition of a route number and route chart that detailed the route a taxi can ply. Only registered taxis are allowed on the road.
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