The Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs has unveiled a number of initiatives that are being considered in order to streamline, regulate, and create order in the city.

The ministry says it’s still discussing the initiatives and they will be implemented after thorough consultations.

The issues being considered are:

Registering Boda bodas and taxis operating in the city and creating a digital database that will be used by KCCA for records.

Gazetting parks, stages, routes and stops for taxis and boda bodas. For taxis, 66 stages, including parks and 137 routes have already been gazetted. 970 stages have been mapped out bodas and 585 are to be gazetted in the five divisions in the first phase.

The ministry also wants to introduce route numbers and colours for all the taxis to enhance order in the business.

It also wants to introduce the identification of drivers/riders; this will include wearing uniforms and badges for easing identification and tracking for both covid19 related tracing and controlling crime.

The ministry also plans to roll out scheduled bus services within circular routes of boda boda free zone within the central business district.

It will also support riders that are not registered with digital companies/associations to either join existing ones, form new associations or register on their own as individual riders.

The ministry says implementation will be done in close collaboration with the leaders of stages/parks.

Old Taxi park

Meanwhile, the ministry has contracted Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd and Kiru General Services to rehabilitate the Old Taxi Park.

These companies will excavate and dispose of existing material, install underground drainage lines, rock fill, construct new foundation layers for the carpet, and surface constructed layers with asphalt concrete.

The new carpet will have marking to delineate areas for parking and for taxi and pedestrian movements.

The boundaries of the park will be retained properly to prevent mud from washing onto the carpet.

The companies will also set up lighting and waiting sheds for passengers.

The park will also have designated entry and exit points for both vehicles and pedestrians and will have access control for vehicles to avoid queing on the sorrounding roads and congestion within the park.

KCCA says if the lockdown ends before the construction works are completed, it will provide alternative parking areas.