Urban Transport Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations for Reform in Uganda

Abstract

Research has shown that there are very large differences in the availability and costs of transport between Africa and Asia. Africa is at a considerable disadvantage in all respects. Development funds to date have been almost exclusively used for infrastructure, yet there is huge potential for cost savings from an improvement in vehicle efficiency. The provision of transport services has been left to the market, but the market has not been working effectively. High transport costs and unreliable service provision have a significant impact on industry and on the mobility of people. The results of research carried out on urban transport services in Uganda are described. To understand the transport market and its operations, bus surveys and interviews were carried out with the main stakeholders in the capital city and two rural towns. The major problems faced by transport operators are identified, and their impact on vehicle operating costs is analyzed. Also examined are transport regulations and the current organization of transport services and their impact on vehicle utilization. The key areas highlighted for concern include anticompetitive practices by the associations that control service provision and absence of transport planning and regulation. Finally, recommendations to improve vehicle operations are made. These range from long-term policy and institutional reforms (including legislative changes, vehicle import regulation, and setting up of a transport regulator body and private-public partnership arrangements) to shorter-term initiatives addressing issues such as vehicle financing, driver training, and safety.

Daily Mobility, Livelihoods and Transport Policies in Kampala, Uganda: A Hägerstrandian Analysis

“…Most research focuses on transport modes, travel time and distances as well as affordability (e.g. Benmaamar et al ; Sietchiping et al ; Diaz Olvera et al ), without considering other constraints. The literature also often considers urban commuters as a homogeneous group.…”

‘Double Capture’ and De-Democratisation: Interest Group Politics and Uganda’s ‘Transport Mafia’

“…By 2000, there were around 4000 matatus in Kampala, accounting for 70 per cent of road use (Benmaamar et al, 2002). Five years later, this had increased to 6400; by 2007 it was 8400, and by 2009 at least 10,000.…”

“…In much of Africa, the importation of second hand minibuses as a central mode of public transport accelerated in the early 1990s (Kumar & Barrett, 2008, p. 8). Active liberalisation and deregulation of the sector was also being actively encouraged by the World Bank around this time, following the experience in the developed world (Gómez-Ibáñez & Meyer, 1993), and many countries -including Uganda -officially adopted this approach in the 1990s (Benmaamar et al, 2002).…”

“…Meanwhile, although the unreceipted fees from drivers to UTODA have now gone, there has been little to fundamentally change the exploitative relations between owners and drivers; one observer pointed out that drivers may actually now pay owners more of their share of takings to reflect the absence of UTODA fees. 52 In sum, there was a tipping point in Kampala's transport system when the costs associated with the dominance of UTODA began to impinge severely on government through the withholding of revenues, general degradation of the city and spiralling political disorder. As a consequence, a decision by the top echelons of the government was made to break up that organisation's power, while preserving many of the interests intact.…”

Transport planning in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Fuel costs commonly account for 10-40% of overall vehicle operating costs (Starkey et al 2001: 37) and thus price increases are a common cause of public protest. High fuel taxes are a common cause of high vehicle operating costs (see Benmaamar 2002 re Uganda Farrington and Saasa 2002: vi re Zambia, where fuel taxation accounted for approximately 70% of the pump price). In Africa's many nonoil producing countries, fuel conservation is an important issue: this suggests the value of increased use of non-motorised transport, discussed below.…”