Karuma Bridge closure: Buses need extra 30 liters of fuel on eastern route

The diversion of traffic between Lira and Kampala via Soroti-Kumi-Pallisa-Tirinyi-Nakalama-Iganga has increased the distance by 75.7 kilometers compared to 338 kilometers between Uganda’s Kampala and the main commercial hub of Lango via by Karuma.

Our calculations with the help of Google Maps show that a bus leaving Lira to and from Kampala using the eastern route would need an additional 30.28 liters of fuel.

If a pumping station sells a liter of fuel for Sh5,100 (as was the case in some places on May 7), Sh154,428 per trip would be needed to cover the additional fuel costs.

The country’s road agency, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), has diverted heavy traffic following the closure of the faulty Karuma Bridge to pave the way for its reconstruction.

During the three-month closure of the bridge, lira-bound buses plying the eastern route would have to pay Sh13,898,525 for extra fuel of 2,725.2 liters for round trips.

Like Lira, diverting traffic between Gulu and Kampala via the Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route would increase the distance by 85 kilometers compared to 335 kilometers between Uganda’s capital Kampala and the largest city in the north from Uganda, Gulu.

Drivers estimate that a bus, the vehicle of choice for passengers on the route, travels six kilometers per liter, meaning that the 85 kilometers would require an additional 211 liters, or an additional expenditure of Sh55,000 to fill the tank for the journey. .

Ali Masoud, president of the Uganda Bus Drivers Association (UBDA), told Monitor on May 7 that his Comfort Travelers bus uses fuel worth Sh1.2 million to travel to and from Kampala via the bridge. Karuma.

But to drive through Soroti-Kumi-Pallisa-Trinyi to Nakalama-Iganga and Kampala, your bus needs additional fuel worth Sh600,000.

If it is true that the alternative route has introduced an additional cost of Sh600,000, Comfort Travelers would need an additional Sh54 million to operate on the route proposed by the government for three months (to be more specific, 90 days).

“For us to survive in the business, it is necessary that every passenger who enjoys traveling with us pays Sh40,000 as transportation fare for a single trip. However, the challenge is that people say the alternative route has increased travel times, which is tedious,” Masoud said.

He said many passengers from Lango sub-region who prefer to use the Lira-Karuma-Kampala road have refused to access Kampala via the longer route.

According to Masoud, a passenger leaving Lira aboard a bus on the newly introduced route takes about 10 hours to reach Kampala, compared to the five hours that the same person can take from Lira-Kampala via Karuma.

“Now it is difficult to get enough passengers to fill all the seats on the bus,” Masoud said.

The Nile River Bridge at Karuma is a central national asset, interconnecting traffic and business out of or within other parts of Uganda to the north and to larger markets in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Masoud further said that Lira operators heading to Kampala have now preferred to drive to the checkpoint located about two kilometers from the bridge in a bid to avoid additional costs.

When they reach that point at the T-junction, passengers and luggage are transferred to small vehicles and transported across the bridge to Karuma town. Here they are pushed onto another company’s bus to continue their journey.