Taxi operators to be fully registered, says Uganda Transport Operators Federation

UTOF, which was formed in September last year, is a body that brings together the previously independent taxi operators’ associations of Kampala Operational Taxi Stages Association (KOTSA), Uganda Transport Development Agency (UTRADA), Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA), and Kampala Inter-Taxi Association (KITA).

The foregoing associations united to organise an industry divided against itself by different factions organised under various associations whose operations were rarely in tandem. As a means of ensuring there’s no reversion to this type of factionalism and in order to further organise, UTOF is proposing a mass registration exercise by all taxi operators including drivers, conductors, touts and guides.

UTOF chairperson Rashid Sekindi, says one of the aims of said organisation is to have a clear record of persons operating in the industry, indicating the importance of registering all operators for proper identification.

Sekindi explains that once registration commences, each operator shall be required to provide their personal details viz name, NIN number, driving permit number (for drivers), and stage of origin. An operator shall be required to provide proof that indeed they work from a particular stage and pay a yet to be determined amount of money to facilitate the process.

Sekindi says that they want to reproduce identify cards which can be scanned to produce details of the operator. He says that they need to register their members such that they can easily benefit from government programs and also implement development initiatives together as a consolidated unit.

A uniform record, Sekindi adds, shall also help them in enforcing a measure of order among operators on issues such as space ownership at stages, drivers taking passenger’s property and other untoward behaviours perpetrated by some taxi operators.