Transport costs shoot up during Christmas

This comes barely three weeks after the works and transport minister Gen. Katumba Wamala warned that any hikes in travel expenses had to be done with governmental consultation or the transport operators would risk losing their route charts.

However, as Christmas surrounds us with resounding festivities, bus and taxi operators have used the emphatic celebrations to double their rates.

Passengers travelling from Kampala to Busia will have to pay Shs 50,000 and not the Shs 30,000 they usually paid before the festive season. 

Tax and bus operators say that the rising prices in fuel have made them charge passengers exorbitant amounts. 

“It is hard to convince transport operators not to increase their fares when the price of fuel keeps rising every other day,” said Mr. Nelson Ssekandi, the manager of Namayiba bus park. 

Fuel prices shot up two months ago, and continue to skyrocket. 

A litre of diesel is Shs 4,500 while a litre of petrol is Shs 4,800 meaning that a bus travelling from Kampala to Mbale consumes fuel of Shs 1.3 million. Before the fuel prices went up, buses were consuming Shs 800,000 for the same journey. 

Transport operators also blame Covid-19 for the fare increments as the pandemic has eaten into people’s incomes and thereby limited the number of people travelling upcountry for Christmas. 

Simple demand-supply economics implies that an increase in price covers the losses the operators suffer as a consequence. 

Mr. Michael Okello, the courier manager for Teso coaches, chimed in on this point by saying: “We have very few people who are going to celebrate. Most people have been living in their villages since the second lockdown. Those travelling now are mainly traders or government workers.”