Buses, Taxi Operators in Gulu City Register Low Business

Bus and Taxi operators Gulu City have registered low passenger turn-up as public transport resumed after 42 days.

At the several buses and taxi parks visited by URN reporters, buses and taxis were still parked with no passengers. 

At Lamogi Ber Bus Terminal previously four buses would usually leave for Kampala City between mid-day and 2:00 p.m. but on Monday only two buses had left.   

George Oceng, the Manager Pacific Bus says that their bus should have left for Kampala City by 10:00 a.m. but until mid-day they had less than ten passengers on board.   

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At Pakwach Stage, Michael Acaye who plies the West Nile route through the Nwoya, Karuma, Pakwach, Nebbi and Arua districts said that out of their ten taxis scheduled for Monday`s route only two had left by mid-day due to few passengers.  

Similarly, Vincent Otema who plies the Gulu-Kamdini-Lira route said they registered a very low turn-up of customers.   

However, Denis Okello, a driver who plies the Acet-Awere-Puranga-Pader-Kalongo and Abim districts route says that they had moderately good numbers of customers and three taxis had left by mid-day.

He attributed the good turn-up to farmers who were going to check their gardens that they had abandoned during the lockdown.   

URN also established that the buses and taxi operators have maintained the fares as it was before the second lockdown was imposed and were adhering to the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the health ministry`s guidelines.   

On Friday last week, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni lifted the ban on public transport which was imposed in mid-June following a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths in the country.   

He directed the buses and taxi operators to carry passengers at half capacity.