Interstate bus operators through Uganda cautioned

Wednesday, 21st September, 2011

Interstate bus operators on the Juba-Kampala route have been cautioned against setting up illegal bus terminals. This follows complaints from bus operators on routes between northern Uganda districts and Kampala.

"I wish to inform you (the Gulu municipal council town clerk) that conditions of the operator’s licenses for interstate operations restrict the owners/operators from interfering with local operations in spite of free competition in the market," Winston Katushabe, the secretary of the Transport Licensing Board, said in a letter dated September 5.

The bus operators had complained that the interstate buses, plying the Kampala-Juba route, interrupted their operations by opening a bus terminal at Delta fuel station in Gulu town.

In a letter to Katushabe, the operators of had threatened to stop remitting loading and off-loading gate fees in protest.

Juba-Kampala buses charge between sh13,000 and sh15,000, while the rest charge sh20,000 from Gulu to Kampala.

Mewa, Go Transit, Discovery Shuttle, Northern Tours, Gulu Coach, Komatse Coach, Redeemer Coach, BTC Coach and Otada Coach bus companies operate from Gulu town.

By Samuel Sanya: The New Vision News paper