It is usually the time at least many people plan to travel up-country for the holidays. With the high demand comes with a hike in bus fares. Passengers will have to fork double the amount to celebrate Christmas upcountry.
Downtown bus parks are filled with hundreds of passengers struggling for that dream ticket to travel to their villages. In certain cases, tickets for buses plying the Northern routes and West Nile have had passengers booking tickets atleast two days in advance. A bus operator says since return routes are illegal in a day, they have no
option but to increase the fares due to the amount.
Gate Way bus fares have been increased depending on one’s destination; like to Kabale, for example, it has increased from Shs25,000 to Shs50,000 and expected to raise to Shs80,000, Kisoro from between Shs25,000-Shs30,000 and Shs40,000 yet expected to raise between to Shs50,000 to Shs80,000 towards Christmas. Other routes like Moroto have increased from Shs40,000 to Shs55,000, Kotido, Shs45,000 to Shs50,000, and Tororo Shs13,000 to Shs20,000.Savana Coaches whose routes are to Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kanungu and Kihihi have also increased the fares. Mbarara has increased from Shs15,000 to Shs30,000 and is expected to raise to Shs50,000 Fare to Ntungamo has risen from Shs25,000 to Shs45000 but is expected to increase to Shs60,000. To travel to Kanungu, the price has increased from Shs30,000 to Shs50,000 and is expected to raise to Shs70,000. The fare to Kihihi has come from Shs60,000 to Shs80,000, Didus Kamugisha, the company transport guide highlights.
