traffic

UPC wants Boda riders countrywide trained in traffic knowledge 

(Last Updated On: 18 August 2022)

“…Boda Boda riders are sieved and well trained to do the job with traffic knowledge and worth on the road as opposed to just briefing them! This can lessen the endless accidents,” UPC said in a statement. 


 By Milton Emmy Akwam         

Oyam – August 17, 2022: In Uganda, Boda Boda is the most used means of transportation for both people and goods. While it was an urban form of transport for years, today, Boda Bodas are present in the villages.

The majority of the riders [Boda Boda operators] for commercial purposes lack basic training on road safety and traffic management. In the end, dozens are dying and scores are getting wounded after a crash.

According to the Police Annual Crime and Traffic Report of 2021, 1,390 motorcyclists died countrywide. In the same year, 4,159 road crash fatalities were recorded across the country.

In 2021, according to the same report, motorcyclists killed in road crashes were the highest in the country’s road traffic history.


Breakdown:

Out of the registered road crash fatalities – 2021;

  • 1,390 were motorcyclists
  • 528 were passengers 

“Boda Boda is what feeds me and my extended family,” James Komakech, a rider in Gulu City told this Reporter in early 2022.

“I am thankful that for the last 10 years I have been riding I have never had a crash,” he added.

Komakech, like many of his colleagues, does not have enough traffic knowledge and added he would be glad if training on the same was feasible.

It is also an advantage that for those riders in Lira or Gulu cities where there is little or no traffic congestion to worry about during peak hours, training would not be so immediate or leaders would take a little longer to start thinking about it, even when people are dying on the roads.

Bigger [capital] city and metropolitan like Kampala has decided to register Boda Boda riders in a bid to control traffic and create sanity in the industry. 

On Monday, Kampala Capital City Authority [KCCA] commenced the registration of Boda Bodas, and will last until August 30, 2022. 

KCCA and partners like the Ministry of Works and Transports will ensure all the riders undergo training on traffic rules and guidelines. David Luyimbazi who is the deputy executive director of KCCA told Kampala media that the exercise is to enable them to create sanity in the industry.

Politically, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, in a statement TND News has obtained a copy, UPC, through the spokesperson said she been keenly following the debates, public concern, and several attempts to streamline the Boda Boda industry by various agencies in Kampala, which attracted a court case on the matter.


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“However, KCCA has come up with the latest initiative to register, the Boda Boda business. This is indeed a great effort for planning and we hope that it will be carried out to a logical conclusion. UPC calls for concerted efforts and unity among the key stakeholders most especially the agencies and Boda Boda riders if the project is to be a success,” Arach Oyat Sharon, UPC party spokesperson added.

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“UPC applauds the strategic contribution of the Boda Boda industry to our national economy as a source of employment and easy means of transport, especially for short and medium distances across the country. Notably, most of the Boda Bodas are secured through loan schemes, which make financial institutions have a direct interest thus making it a long chain of business with a number of beneficiaries.”

The Akena-led party said they are informing the line agencies on how strategic the industry is, and how to go about it while putting into consideration the number of unemployed youth it has absorbed, and the families that depend on them among others.

“KCCA, therefore, needs to cover the gaps, especially ensuring that Boda Boda riders are sieved and well trained to do the job with traffic knowledge and worth on the road as opposed to just briefing them! This can lessen the endless accidents.”

According to Arch, this exercise should be extended from Kampala to the rest of the country as it is now clear that the Boda Boda business is getting entrenched as a mode of transport both in the urban and rural areas as well as a source of income and employment.

Traffic officer speaks

In an exclusive interview with TND News, Mathias Okwir, the Regional Traffic Officer at North Kyoga Region said majority of boda riders, including drivers lack traffic knowledge, adding that most of them are reckless when using the road.

From January 2020 to December, the Police Traffic and Road Safety Department at Lira Central Police Station registered 88 road crashes. Of these, 43 were fatal; 30 and 15 were serious and minor cases, respectively.

The road crashes for that period involved 84 motor vehicles, 63 motorcycles and 8 bicycles.

“It is really becoming a problem with the high numbers of fatalities,” Okwir noted.

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