Nicholas Aharizira
Traders at the Rukungiri taxi/bus park on Tuesday expressed their concerns regarding the collection of passengers from various locations within the town, which they believe is negatively impacting their businesses.
They are urging the Rukungiri municipal authorities to take action to ensure that all passengers are gathered exclusively from the main park, rather than being picked up from different parts of the town.
According to these traders, their businesses are suffering due to the practice of passengers being collected from other areas, particularly the Ntungamo stage at Nabugabo in the Eastern Division of the Municipality.
One trader dealing in general merchandise within the Rukungiri taxi/bus park revealed that they often have unsold stock because a significant portion of potential customers is consistently located at the Ntungamo stage, which operates as an unauthorized passenger collection point.
Additionally, a restaurant owner in the park lamented that their customer base is limited because many traders are frequently waiting for transportation at the Ntungamo stage.
All these traders squarely place the blame on the municipal authorities for failing to enforce regulations that mandate all taxi and bus transporters to exclusively pick up passengers from the main park.
Silage Kabwende, the chairperson for Rukungiri taxi drivers and owners, defended their practice of collecting passengers from the Ntungamo stage. He explained that Rukungiri town has only one exit point, which is the Ntungamo stage, leading to various destinations such as Ishaka, Kampala, Ntungamo, and Kisizi.
This central location naturally attracts passengers to the Ntungamo stage. However, he expressed optimism that once the Rukungiri Kanungu road is completed, the Rukungiri taxi/bus park will operate more efficiently, similar to other parks. He anticipates that the park will serve as a bypass route from Kampala to Kanungu and other destinations.
Unfortunately, our reporter was unable to reach the senior assistant town for the western division, where the park is situated, as his phone was unavailable at the time of writing this story.
