Every day in Kampala, many of us board city taxis knowing we have gambled with our journey. We say quiet prayers (for example, a Hail Mary), count the stops, and hope that the driver’s skill and an old rope holding the door together will get us home. That unease must not be viewed as superstition […] The post It’s time to retire dangerous taxis appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd .
A DMC taxi on the road
Every day in Kampala, many of us board city taxis knowing we have gambled with our journey.
We say quiet prayers (for example, a Hail Mary), count the stops, and hope that the driver’s skill and an old rope holding the door together will get us home. That unease must not be viewed as superstition but as a sensible response to danger.
Chinua Achebe argues in the novel Arrow of God that “it is praiseworthy to be brave and fearless, my son, but sometimes it is better to be a coward”.
“We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live. The man who has never submitted to anything will soon submit to the burial mat,” explains the Nigerian novelist.
Thus, the minister of Works and Transport’s recent announcement about the 100-day operation targeting commuter taxis in Dangerous Mechanical Condition (DMC) – and later reversed – was long overdue, necessary, and a crucial step towards a safer, cleaner, and more modern city.
I am very much alive to the reasons why many Ugandans cling to “old” taxis. They are cheap and omnipresent. They also run the routes that some boda bodas sometimes ignore and put a seat within reach of workers, traders, students, and others.
However, affordability cannot justify carrying passengers in vehicles with torn seats, faulty doors often tightened with ropes, unsafe steering, and “bald” tyres. Such taxis are not merely uncomfortable or embarrassing.
In fact, on the extreme, one would argue that they are mobile hazards. And perhaps the most important question we must ask is simple: is this vehicle fit to carry human life? If the answer is no, then it should not be on the road.
Even beyond the mechanical risks lies a public-health problem. The hygiene inside many DMC taxis is often woeful. Flies, litter, and filth add another layer of indignity to an already risky ride.
Allowing these conditions to persist normalises low standards and diminishes the dignity of those who rely on public transport most. Change will hurt some. Drivers, conductors, and owners will feel the blow because their livelihoods may certainly be disrupted by an enforcement sweep.
But this reality should not be used as an argument for inaction. It should rather be a call for a humane transition, including clear timelines, financial support, and routes for drivers into formalised, safer operations, among others, because if we want safer roads, we cannot simply confiscate livelihoods without offering alternatives.
There are alternatives, and they point the way forward. Modern options such as the Kayoola buses demonstrate that public transport can be safe, clean, and also efficient.
These buses are comfortable, offer conveniences like cashless payments and WiFi, and, crucially, some are electric, a feature that aligns with our obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient cities.
Scaling up such solutions, and incentivising local ownership and operation, would simultaneously raise safety standards and create dignified jobs for drivers and technicians. In addition, if we are serious about transforming Uganda into a middleincome country, we must also be serious about the everyday environments that shape people’s lives.
Roads with DMC taxis can be a symptom of lax standards that ripple into public health, safety, and national image. Therefore, doing away with them on our roads is part of the broader cultural work of modernisation.
It sends a vital message that lives matter and that standards are non-negotiable. My heartfelt sympathies go to the drivers who invested in vehicles that are now untenable.
I equally sympathise with the passenger silently staring at a torn seatbelt or praying silently while a tyre screeches. The balance we must strike is compassionate enforcement: protect lives now, and help people move forward with dignity.
The writer is a Public Relations Manager
The post It’s time to retire dangerous taxis appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
