Uganda holds car free day in capital city to curb air pollution

Uganda on Sunday held a car free day in the capital of Kampala in a bid to cut on vehicle emissions and reduce on air pollution.

David Luyimbazi, the Kampala Capital City Authority Deputy Executive Director, said half of the city, which has a population of over one million, was closed to all vehicle users and only opened for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Kampala is one of the cities in the world with worst air quality. So we hope by having a car free day we were cutting on the level of air pollution,” Luyimbazi said.

“We were trying to protect the environment from vehicle emissions which compromise the air quality. We managed to have uncontaminated air free of chemicals that cause lung-related diseases,” he said.

He said this would also help the government plan for non-motorised road users.

Joseph Beyanga, a road safety advocate, said the car free day was meant to protect the environment and ensure that road users are protected.

“This was an experiment to promote the co-existence of all road users. We were able to have cyclists, pedestrians; we had other people doing exercises and painting faces in the same space,” Beyanga added.

“Vehicles are the biggest polluters. So, we were looking at how we reverse the bad air quality. The cars are not only making the city unsafe for other people but they are also a big contributor to air pollution,” he said.

The day was marked under the theme “road safety and air quality.”