Taxi park officials stuck with 200 bags left behind by travelers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The administrators of the new taxi park are stuck with over 200 bags and 8 mattresses left behind by travelers from different parts of the country.

Officials say they have kept some of the luggage since the government reopened the economy in January this year following the two-year lockdown.

According to the officials, most passengers lose their luggage while traveling for the Christmas holiday or taking children back to school.

Robert Ssekitoleko, the vice chairman of the New taxi park explains that when they receive luggage left behind by a traveler from the conductor or driver, they open it in his presence and document all the items.

Ssekitoleko says that each luggage is marked showing its origin and all the items before it is stored for at least 3 months.

He explains that once they get any contact inside the luggage, they contact them to pick it up. Ssekitoleko however explains that before handing over the luggage, they ask the claimant to list some of the items to prove ownership.

Godfrey Walakira, the secretary of the new taxi park says that the luggage in their office has been building up since they have not handed it over to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) as it would be done after every 3 months.

He explains that since the country was just recovering from COVID-19, they wanted to give the passengers a longer time to pick up their luggage.

In addition to luggage, Walakira says that they have several unclaimed national identity cards. “We have several unclaimed National IDs from different parts of the country but of recent NIRA gave us a way we can retrieve the mobile numbers of the owners and we have started calling many of them to pick them,” Walakira said.

Peter Kirabira, the Vice Chairman of the old taxi park says that the number of luggage left behind by travelers has reduced compared to the time when Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association-UTODA and Kampala Taxi Operators Association-KOTSA were in charge of taxi operations.

Kirabira says that they now have only 8 bags in their office, adding that most of the bags have been transferred to the KCCA office in the park where there is enough storage space.

He explains that unlike in the past when each taxi had a carrier bed for luggage, many of the taxis don’t have them.

As a result, passengers have resorted to using courier services to transport luggage, which has seen a reduction in luggage transported by taxis.

Kirabira also says that some drivers and conductors sometimes steal the luggage when they find valuable commodities and don’t present it to the park management.

Kirabira appealed to KCCA to introduce a mechanism where they can easily mark the passenger luggage detailing the name, location, and telephone numbers of travelers.

Ibrahim Muganguzi from Kisenyi taxi park, says that travelers using taxis that ply long distances are given a receipt that has the contact of the stage master.

He says this has helped several passengers to trace their luggage.

Jerome Mukisa Wamala, the secretary of Namirembe park says that all the luggage they get is transferred to the new taxi park where there is sufficient storage space.

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