The Ministry of Works and Transport on Friday, November 1, 2024, started issuing digital number plates for motorcycles.
The exercise will however allow a 30-day grace period for all motorcycle owners who registered before November 1, 2024, allowing them to collect their plates from designated locations, namely GM Tumpeco and ABC Ltd, at a fee of sh50,000.
After the grace period expires, motorcycle dealers and owners will be required to reapply for duplicate plates under the new registration regime established by the Traffic and Road Safety (Registration Plates) Regulations 2022 (as amended).
This rollout is part of a broader plan by the Ugandan government to enhance vehicle registration and tracking through the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS).
The full implementation for all vehicle categories is expected to begin on January 6, 2025.
The fee for the first registration for vehicles will be sh714,000, with a replacement fee of sh150,000 for those with old plates.
Following increasing gun attacks on prominent persons in business, government, security, and religious denominations, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in 2018 directed the Security and Works and Transport ministries to embark on the process.
The number of motorcycles in Uganda is estimated at between 1 and 1.2 million, the majority operating taxi services (boda boda), while motor vehicles are estimated at between 2.3 and 2.5 million.