Tondeka Metropolitan Kampala Bus Service THAT NEVER WAS

By Jeremiah Kaniampiha

What happened to the Tondeka Metropolitan Kampala Bus Service? It was supposed to kick off in September, 2020 up to now Kampalans are still waiting.

The proposed principal public transport operator in the Kampala Metropolitan area, proposed to serve the city of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, the city of Entebbe, including Entebbe International Airport, Buloba, Nsangi, Ssabagabo, Mukono, Kira Town, Matugga, Wakiso, and the areas in Mukono District and Wakiso District that connect with these urban centers.

According to a feasibility study that was done to assess the project, the Kampala metropolitan area (Kampala, Entebbe, Wakiso District and Mukono District) had a total population of approximately four million residents according to the August 2014 national population census.

More than half of the above total pour onto the narrow roads leading to Kampala city center to go to work, school, hospitals, court, banks or to access other government or private services. This leads to gridlock on the city streets and roads as commuter taxis (kamunye), motorcycle taxis (boda boda), private automobiles, street hawkers, pedestrians and VIP convoys jostle for space. This would be good business, but ……………………..why has it been buried?

This is what was expected, but never was:

The President directed the Ministry of Finance to prioritize the funding of the Tondeka Metro initiative.

Ministry of Works and Transport  was to government agencies in harmonizing  planning.

KCCA  was to lead government agencies in execution and implementation, including the assignment of routes, bus staagesnof the project.

Kira Motors Corporation was the potential suppliers of electric buses in future expansion stages of the project.

Taxi Owners’ Associations were to become co-owners in the business and relocate their commuter taxis to other cities and towns or sell them to other investors who will relocate them.

Taxi drivers, conductors and stage tout were to be given priority when hiring bus drivers, bus conductors and bus terminal managers.

Mukono District Administration and Wakiso District Administration were to licence the business to operate in their jurisdictions and share in the revenue of the business together with Kampala Capital City Authority, through taxation.

The travelling public were expected to benefit from less congested roads and streets, with faster, affordable and safer trips. Even those who do not use public transport will benefit due to less congested roads.

UNRA was expected to repair some roads, widen some to accommodate the large buses and also build new roads.