Many Ugandans are familiar with the concept of electric buses; while many have not had the experience, their arrival in Kampala is not unheard of. About 1000 Tondeka buses from Tondeka bus transport company limited are said to be part of the plans to address congestion issues in Kampala, 50 of these which will be electric.
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The use of electric buses is slowly picking up because of their great advantages like improved air quality due to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
This project is courtesy of a joint venture investment by Kiira Motor Corporation (KMC), Tondeka Metro Company Limited, RentCo Africa Limited (RentCo) and Xiamen Golden Dragon Bus Co. Ltd.
How the Tondeka buses will operate
The company will run two types of buses: the Express bus, which will make fewer and more frequent stops, and the Regular bus, which will stop along the routes as needed. It is expected that by the time the buses arrive, the stages and lanes will have been marked out in collaboration with local officials.
With an advanced transportation system within Kampala and its surrounding areas, Maurice Mukiibi of Tondeka Bus Transport Company hopes that people will leave their cars at home and decide to utilize the buses for transportation so as to reduce congestion since this is one of the major challenges the company is attempting to address.
The Tondeka buses will come along with some great improvements to the transportation system in Kampala. The company is going to have a cashless payment system that will be used by customers to pay for their fares. This will solve the problem of unfair and fluctuating transport fares that have become a custom for many taxi operators.
In addition, Tondeka intends to introduce a payment card branded the Tondeka Metro Card, which was designed by payments business UnionPay and a technology firm, SCINTL Ltd., to help with payments even further. The passenger will swipe the credit card used to pay for the bus fare over a machine that will accept payment.
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Maurice Mukiibi says that the buses will charge a single travel fare, with a single trip ticket costing 2,500 Shillings. The daily, weekly and monthly tickets are categorized into two, Standard and Freedom.
The daily Standard ticket will cost 6,000 Shillings while the daily Freedom costs 8,000 Shillings. The weekly Standard ticket will cost 30,000 Shillings while freedom travellers will pay 40,000 Shillings a week.
A standard traveller will end their journey at the designation Tondeka terminal, while the Freedom traveller will board a taxi along the feeder road to their destination. The taxis will be incorporated and paid for by Tondeka.
The government is still dealing with issues related to uncoordinated, poorly planned, and inefficient transportation systems in urban areas, particularly in the Kampala district. Gaps in urban transportation may be eliminated by this planned Mass Transit Bus System, as the new model will improve service delivery to citizens.
People may spend less time travelling as a result of this, and the business climate may improve as transportation costs are lowered.
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