Four buses impounded for violating Covid-19 guidelines

Soroti, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police in Soroti have impounded four buses of different companies operating in the area while violating Standard Operating Procedures- SOPs.

The buses include two from the YY Coaches Company, while the other two belong to Gateway and to Goglon bus companies each. They were impounded last evening along the main streets in Soroti town.

Before resuming public transport, authorities in Soroti met with transporters and guided them on the SOPs. In their resolutions, all the buses and taxis were to park strictly in their respective parks located along old Mbale road.

The buses were required to be fumigated before and after every journey, provide hand washing facilities and sanitizers and ensure social distancing. They were also cautioned against struggling for customers, a practice that exposes passengers to the virus.

But while the SOPs were observed within the first month of operation, many public transport operators slid back to their old ways of parking along the streets and struggling for passengers with minimal adherence to SOPs. Some of the buses move at night, during curfew hours.

David Ongom Mudong, the East Kyoga regional police spokesman says the police action follows several warnings to the transporters that received little attention. He says the police is finalizing with the charges against the affected bus operators.

Police action comes at a time when the region is registering a widespread of COVID-19 cases outside districts along the main highway. The bus operators have retreated back to their drawing boards. At the bus park, only two buses were seen by our reporter by the time of filing this story.

Some taxis plying the Soroti- Mbale, Soroti- Moroto and Soroti- Lira routes were seen loading passengers at the bus park as some of the buses are held at CPS Soroti.

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