Tax Expense

Owning a taxi in Uganda for many may be seen as a lucrative venture, however this is just the opposite as those involved in it are crying foul of the too much expenses they have got to part with to specialize in the transport sector.

Owning a taxi commonly known as kamunye or kigege in Uganda has been discovered as one of the most expensive and risky businesses to venture in. The operating cost by a taxi owner includes parking, maintenance, insurance and other miscellaneous costs. The purchasing cost of a taxi is between 35 to 37 million shillings, acquiring public service van licenses is at 100,000 shillings and insurance services are at a tune cost of 100,000 annually.

Rashid Lubega aged 27, who we caught up with at Nakulabye stage a Kampala suburb where he works, says his day begins as early as 6 am to transport passengers going to their different work places. He has been a taxi driver for 6 years. After leaving school he had a number of casual jobs. None of them brought in much money but he managed to build up some savings, little by little to look after his family of three. His main routes are Kampala suburbs including Kasubi, Nansana and Namungoona. On these routes passengers part with a fee of shillings 800 to 1000 shillings depending on the day's work. Like many other business for Lubega as a taxi driver it's not a smooth road as there are some up skill tasks he faces while on duty. Ranging from other costs like the welfare fees he has to pay to UTODA, fuel prices also come in handy as he's got to spend more than 70,000 shillings on fuel daily and also make a daily payment to his boss of 60,000. And this leaves him with little to cater for his family needs.

Some of the taxi owners, like Yusuf Balikagira who owns three taxis says he has not ripped big from it as he expected while investing in them.

There are over 8000 taxi drivers in Uganda who are just like Rashid Lubega struggling to find an ends in the transport sector. But for how long do they have to deal with this.

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News & Politics

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