Kampala Traffic? KCCA’s Executive Director says the answer is simple: park the car
And if you were hoping the city’s anti-traffic strategy would involve fewer cars but more freshly washed roads and greener grass, well… KCCA appears to have bigger plans.
Sharifah Buzeki, the Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), has delivered a response to a social media user who wondered whether the city authority had any plans beyond washing roads and planting grass.
The exchange unfolded on X after user Jeje Odea cheekily asked: “Dear KCCA, aside from washing roads and planting grass, do you have any plan for traffic jam in the city?”
Rather than ignore the jab, Buzeki jumped into the conversation with a detailed reply; a not-so-subtle message for car-loving Kampala residents: ditch the private vehicles.
“Ultimately there is one major solution,” Buzeki wrote, quoting Odea’s post on X. “Get people out of their private cars to walk, cycle, or use mass transit.”
Electric buses on the way
According to Buzeki, KCCA’s strategic plan includes introducing electric buses along major corridors in and around Kampala. Discussions with local bus service providers are already underway.
If successful, commuters could soon swap their fuel-guzzling taxis and cars for quieter electric rides across the city.
Rail revival in the works
KCCA is also collaborating with the Ministry of Works and Transport and Uganda Railways Corporation to expand passenger rail services.
Plans include double tracking the existing railway corridors to improve capacity and frequency.
The big transport makeover
The strategy goes far beyond buses and trains. Kampala Capital City Authority envisions a network of modern mass transit systems designed to decongest Kampala and its surrounding metropolitan areas.
The plan includes a Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) line running from Mukono to Bujuuko, alongside a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system linking major commuter corridors such as Mukono–Kampala, Gayaza–Kampala, and Kampala–Kajjansi.
In addition, the authority is proposing a Light Rail Transit (LRT) network with new routes extending to Kira, Matugga, and Nakisunga, as well as a circular LRT line running along the city’s Northern and Southern Bypasses to improve connectivity around the greater metropolitan area.
If all these plans come together, Buzeki says traffic congestion in the capital will “drastically reduce.”
Walk, pedal, or ride
But until the futuristic buses and rail systems arrive, the KCCA boss has a simpler suggestion for residents: walk, cycle, or use mass transit.
In other words, Kampala’s traffic solution might start not in the boardroom but in the parking lot.
