Bus operators have called off their three-day strike after receiving a letter from the Ministry of Local Government inviting them for a meeting today.
The strike that has been ongoing since August 22, saw thousands of travellers stranded in the six bus terminals in Kampala City.
The strike also saw taxi operators take advantage of the situation to hike transport fares to upcountry destinations.
There was a sigh of relief yesterday from travellers as bus operations resumed at around 2:30 p.m.
A senior official with the association, Robert Mutebi told our reporteryesterday that they suspended the strike following a meeting over new Shs2.4 million annual levy, and the scheduling of another sit-down at the Ministry of Local Government today.
Minister of Local Government Raphael Magyezi yesterday said they shall resolve the matter today in a meeting that is to be attended by KCCA, Minister of Works, Minister of Trade and permanent secretaries among other stakeholders.
In a February 23 letter to Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, bus operators had requested that the government drop implementation of the park user fees of Shs2.4 million per bus, per year, among others.
Meanwhile, Taxi operators have threatened to park their vehicles and suspend services if the government grants a tax waiver to bus operators following a three-day transport strike this week.
Rashid Ssekindi, who chairs Uganda Taxi Operators Federation (Utof), said his members have been paying the fees jointly agreed during a 2018 joint meeting held at State House in the presence of the President.
In that meeting, Ssekindi said it was agreed that taxis operating within the same district will pay Shs720,000 to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) as park user fee annually.
For those commuting between districts, the fee was set at Shs840,000 and Buses were supposed to pay Shs2,400,000 to KCCA.
Ssekindi said the noncompliance by bus operators to pay park fees is due to their impunity since some of the proprietors are members of Parliament and others are big people within government.
They are taking advantage of the situation to default, yet taxis have been paying these taxes as earlier agreed.
Ssekindi proposed that if any adjustments are to be made, these must be uniform to accommodate even taxis; otherwise, taxis will also cease to pay the fees with immediate effect.
