The Minister for Kampala city Authority and Metropolitan affairs Minsa Kabanda yesterday the 07th December 2022, issued an order to all passenger taxi, bus brokers to check out of Kampala city with immediate effect and go back to the designated bus and taxi transport hubs.
According to the Minister, Section 99 of the traffic and road safety Act, 1998 as amended prohibits touting, a person who contravenes subsection(1) commits an offense and is liable , on conviction, to a fine not exceeding three hundred currency points or imprisonment not exceeding six months.
“Many brokers and touts had left the bus terminals and parks to begin booking and looking for passengers on the streets away from the transport hubs, causing a lot of disorder and increased theft, since different fares are charged for a similar journey,” said Kabanda
The Minister also stated that order needs to be restored arguing that there are enough designated areas for booking, loading and off – loading, so operating outside of those areas and on the streets is unacceptable.
“Imagine we all chose to do our businesses on the streets, and left our designated offices, what would the whole city look like?” queried the Minister.
The order took immediate effect and about 30 drivers were arrested from the areas of Burton Street, Rashid Khamis road and Ben Kiwanuka Street.
According to Kabanda, this decision will go a long way toward protecting innocent travelers, particularly students and first-time city visitors who are frequently misled and end up losing some or all of their goods without an address to trace back to.
