The good news to the Uganda safaris industry is that the transport industry in Uganda witnessed increased back and forth activity in 2012 and in some areas presented optimism for the sector and the economy going forward.
At the beginning of 2012, Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) ended Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association’s (UTODA) two decade era after it took over the management of the city parks and promised to reform the city public transport system.
KCCA’s move came after the High Court in Kampala ruled that UTODA’s case was erroneously filed as an application for judiciary review. Court ruled that technically, UTODA should have filed an ordinary suit to establish the validity of their contract.
KCCA officials promised that the take-over would lead to an improvement in the state of the taxi parks and the service enjoyed by commuters, financed by a monthly user-fee of Ush155,000 per taxi.
The last blow that broke UTODA resilience was a taxi operators’ strike which threatened to paralyze city transport in March. Following the threats by the taxi operators, the Ministry of works and transport gave the green light to Pioneer Easy Bus Company and Rift Valley Railways (RVR) to ferry commuters to and from the city on a temporary basis.
This effectively changed the face of public transport in the city as long queues of passengers waiting to board the buses was a common sight while virtually empty taxis strolled around.
Last week however, UTODA also introduced new buses into the City Public Transportation business. UTODA’s entry into the bus industry sets a collision course with ailing Pioneer Easy Bus Services Company that has been hit by financial hardships and appears headed for a collapse.
In the aviation sub sector, Entebbe is emerging as a top destination for giant global airlines.
In just one year, global carriers that previously traversed only South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt decided to make Entebbe one of their top destinations following in the footsteps of British Airways, KLM and Emirates Airlines this is great news to the Uganda safari industry because tourists taking on Uganda safaris will now find it easy to connect from where ever they are to prime Uganda safari destinations .
This enabled Entebbe Airport to win the 2012 Routes Africa Airport Marketing Award for Excellence in Airport Marketing in recognition for attracting the highest number of new reputable air operators.
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