Who are the winners, losers in non-motorised transport?

Pedestrains and cyclists use the yet to open non-motorised lanes in downtown Kampala. The Authority has invested Shs5b in the corridor that now stretches from Berkeley junction (Bakuli) through Namirembe Road and Luwum Street, and winds on Entebbe Road at the city centre’s Absa Bank. Photo by Eronie Kamukama 

By Eronie Kamukama

It is only when you are downtown Kampala today that you can see how gradually the city’s
infrastructure is changing. The roads that had two lanes just vanished.

Those that looked like boundless tributaries of tarmac are now simply long pathways of pavers with green grassed spaces budding in between them. Anyone who had been there before November 10, 2019 would describe time spent on the streets as moments of chaos.

Sellers, buyers, commuter taxis, head-loaders, pedestrians, personal cars, trucks, motor and bicyclists rubbing against each other. But on days like these, there are more people than anything.

Why non-motorised transport?
In 2018, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) launched the non-motorised transport (NMT) project to create a safe conduit for pedestrians and cyclists. The pilot began in November 2018 with one of the busiest routes.

The Authority has since invested Shs5b in the corridor that now stretches from Berkeley junction (Bakuli) through Namirembe Road and Luwum Street, and winds on Entebbe Road at the city centre’s Absa Bank.

“We are just concluding works with signage and lighting. We shall hand over the project next week,” Mr Peter Kaujju, spokesperson KCCA says.

That is relieving for anyone who understands how life downtown Kampala operates.

“I have always loved to shop downtown because that is where the affordable stuff is. But I hated how hard it was to get through to the malls. I can honestly say I survived accidents both by taxi or boda boda but also, I was always conscious of thieves since the congestion made it hard to know when your bag or phone would be snatched,” Ms Catherine Nakiboneka says.

Her sigh of relief makes as much sense to Josephat Businge who has been carrying goods on his bicycle for a fee for the last two years. “Now that the taxis are no longer here, I do not waste time figuring out where to pass and I am moving a lot more goods faster; so business has changed for the better,” he says.

Two blocks away is Kikuubo, a popular place for shoppers. Mr Stephano Magambo has been an attendant for two years in a stationery shop. His customers have lessened, he says, believing that the new roads cause traffic jam and force customers to buy goods closer to taxi stages. But also, supplies are causing trouble.

“Trucks used to bring goods directly to us but not so easily now. Suppliers prefer to stop at Ham shopping centre where the road is wider, so we move around a lot looking for goods,” he says.

Losers
Mr Duncan Abong feels there are losers and winners amidst the construction of the non-motorised transport. He is the loser. He has been selling ladies’ bags at Qualicel Bus terminal shopping centre since 2014. Prior, there was a lot of traffic jam but that meant there was money earned.

“For the first three months, we struggled to make rent. They should have sensitised us before construction,” he says. His shop costs Shs7.5m in rent.

But Mr Kaujju insists the project has taken over three years partly because the Authority has been engaging with the community from the onset to the end. If anything, he believes traders should be excited because the project is driving more customers to them.

That is not Mr Abong’s only problem. When it rains, water overwhelms the drainage system and enters his shop now.

“We lost millions recently, so let them work on the system,” Mr Abong says.

Low sales
He notes the changes have also paved way for street vendors who tap into his customers and that KCCA must tighten enforcement just as it was under Ms Jennifer Musisi’s directorship.

Perhaps Charlie Muyita is one of the street vendors Mr Abong refers to. He sells whatever the season dictates so he is still counting his valentine day sales and does not share Mr Abong’s sentiments.

“We used to work till 11a.m before the construction. Today, KCCA officers are here by 8a.m. Business is on the low because our selling space is shrinking given that buses to Kawempe relocated, narrowing the road. I might have to apply for a job to look after these green spaces you see,” he says, leaving his colleagues to laugh out loud.

Taxis evade Old Park
That sure sounds like the story of taxi operators. Mr Abdullah Lukwago is calling passengers journeying to Nakawa and Bweyogerere. These taxis once lined the border of Old Taxi Park and he pauses the second he learns of this research. The road was changed without consideration, he starts off.

“Why do we bring passengers and pour them at the outskirts of the parks, as far as Bakuli only for them to walk?” he asks. Those same passengers, he says, no longer enter the park and prefer to use alternate taxis at convenient stages because of the hassle associated with the Old Taxi Park now.

“Where I used to do four routes, I now do two because a taxi entering and eventually leaving this park is harder hence longer. The inlet is the same outlet since other outlets are cut off by the changes. Our taxis have to literally scratch each other because it is bumper to bumper to get in,” Mr Lukwago narrates.

KCCA thinks otherwise. “As for the taxis, this is an inclusive city and it does not only belong to those operators. We plan for those who want to drive and those who want to walk as well,” Mr Kaujju says.

There are other observers who think the NMT will certainly create convenience and increase sales for traders but say the Authority still has work cut out for it if worries around the NMT are to wear off. It must put in place alternative places for offloading for every mall.

“If they are not there, it means all bulk purchases are put off. There are options like interconnected malls to create access without necessarily redesigning infrastructure,” Mr Jonathan Gombya, Property and Facilities manager Legacy Group, says.

On whether the NMT could cause a surge in rent of properties along this corridor, it might not be in the short term.

“Forces of demand and supply will come into play. Traders will have increase in sales and it will be a matter of time before mall owners increase rent. This may be after a year,” he says.

Motorcyclists edged out
The peripheral of the new lanes is filled with cheap produce, shoes, bags, belts, clothes, jewelry and has customers and street vendors to haggle over every last shilling, a KCCA officer along Luwum Street is caught in a fight with boda boda riders. Not physical. He is pushing them off the roads. They are not supposed to create stages on the road, he maintains.
“These are lanes created for pedestrians. I am only sympathising with motorcyclists for now. With time, we shall create special stages for them in appropriate places,” the officer says.
However, two of the cyclists are not budging and one claims some of these officers are using this opportunity to take every penny they are making in fines.

“Creating lanes only for pedestrians is discriminatory. Our stage used to be here but we no longer work. The busier a town is, the more money we make but a pedestrian buys goods and walks with them to the next taxi stage instead of using a boda boda,” the motorcyclist says.