Taxi drivers in Kumi Road Tax Park in Mbale City have blamed the City authorities over the small parking lot.
These say this unsolved problem pushed them out of the park, forcing them to load and offload on the street.
According to the drivers, the park hosts over 200 taxis on a daily basis.
These are operating on different routes including; Sironko, Kapchorwa, Amudat, Budadir, Buteza, Mutufu, Soroti, Buginyanya , and Kachumbala. They argue that the remain space is too small and always occupied by lorries and trucks
The taxi drivers say that they can no longer access the park as they are always pushed away by the people who claim to have bought the Tax Park land from the city council pushing them to park on the street for loading.
Mudebo Kenedy a taxi driver on Sironko Muyembe stage says that city council is no loner helping them since they were pushed out of the park by the claimers of the land who claim they bought the land from city council.
Abtwahil chalo a driver Kapchorwa stage says that the city council is very much aware of them operating from the street but no effort has been put to help these taxi drivers.
Muwonge Bosco secretary mbale soroti stage says that they tried working from the park however small it is but when the disclaimers realized of them coming the next day the instead materials including sand to destruct these drivers.
Abdallah Kawesa Chairperson Disciplinary Committee for Mbale -Sironko Drivers Association says that the so-called taxi park is just a pass through that is mostly used by rollies to offload the goods. He faulted the council for failing to stop Buses and Bodabodas that load from street preventing passengers from reaching the park.
Adds that if the city council allocates a better gazzeted parking place for these taxis and also enforce regulations on these buses that come from their regarded park and load from streets.
Meanwhile the Deputy City clerk Keneth Katuli denied these allegations and that the parking space in the kumi taxi park is enough to accommodate these taxis. He said that the drivers abandoned the park due to competition from Buses and Bodabodas.
He however, admitted the failure to tame the buses and Bodaboda riders, blaming it on the absence of always that streamlines the management of Tax, Buses and Bodabodas in the City.
He revealed that the Council has come up with an ordinance which if ratified and approved by the relevant authorities, shall solve all the mess surrounding the management of transport industry in Mbale City.
