Boda bodas defy KCCA, return to non-motorised transport corridor

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Boda boda cyclists have returned to the Non-Motorized Transport corridor along Namirembe road, barely a month after they were evicted.

Last month, KCCA evicted boda bodas off the street in an effort to de-congest the corridor and enforce its proper usage. More than 50 motorcycles were impounded.

However, motorists have continued to abuse the corridor, and cyclists have returned and reoccupied their earlier stages.

Badru Kasule, a boda boda rider at one of the stages on Namirembe road, says that KCCA has not yet provided alternative spaces for them to operate.

Apart from cyclists, at the tail end of the corridor towards Entebbe road, there is a garbage collecting point, where garbage skips are stationed.

Robert Kalumba, the KCCA deputy spokesperson says that the non-motorized corridor is supposed to be free of any motorists, and there is no gazetted boda boda stage as the cyclists claim.

“Ideally, this lane is meant for cycling alone, even the pedestrians have their walkways separated. And as the name suggests, it is a non-motorized lane, and there is no reason why someone parks his motorcycle in an area demarcated so.” Kalumba says.

According to Kalumba, in addition to enforcement, KCCA will carry out intense sensitization about the NMT.

In 2018, KCCA started the construction of Uganda’s first non-motorized transport corridor. The corridor that stretches from Namirembe road through Luwum street to Entebbe road is meant for cyclists and pedestrians while cargo trucks would be allowed only between 10pm and 6am to load and offload goods.

The corridor was commissioned amidst anticipation that it would reduce congestion along the stretch and easy access to shops downtown.

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