When Uber first announced its entry into the Ugandan market, I was excited.
But I also had reservations about whether this new service would live up to the expectations set by Uber in other parts of the world.
However, my fears were removed when we ordered for our first Uber ride in Uganda; it was excellent, the pickups were punctual, the prices were incredible and the drivers were great.
On July 5, 2017, my wife and I ordered for Uber from Kyanja to the ministry of Internal Affairs. Our driver was nice and very professional. I asked him why nowadays it takes longer for Uber to pick up and later charge the client Shs 3,000 for cancelling the trip, yet the client may have waited for close to an hour.
This had happened to my wife thrice. He was honest and explained how it was a trick used by some drivers who think Uber charges are too low. They accept jobs and delay to arrive and then claim cancellation fees.
After the nice gentleman dropped us off, we ordered for another ride back home. The Google tracker showed that our driver was only 15 minutes away, but he came one and a half hours later.
The estimated fare was Shs 15,000 to Kisaasi-Kyanja from the ministry of Internal Affairs. While we waited for our ride, the tracker showed that our driver was doing a rendezvous around the Centenary park and Lugogo southern bypass.
However, when we called the driver to ask why he was taking long, he told us that he was in a traffic jam on the Wampewo avenue roundabout. We waited patiently till he picked us up at Total fuel station, Old Port Bell Road, next to Meat Packers.
To our surprise, the meter showed Shs 61, 200. We protested and he said there was a surcharge for the traffic jam. We paid but my wife said we should do a follow-up.
When we went to the Uber map, it showed that we had made several trips from Centenary park, to Lugogo Bypass to Ntinda and back numerous times.
Of course the only explanation was that the driver, upon accepting the trip, started the meter well aware that he hadn’t picked us up yet while he did his own errands.
I was devastated about the conduct of the driver, which confirmed the explanation of the earlier driver about the cancelled pick-ups and refusal to pick clients even after accepting the job.
Now if Uber is reading this, they should know that they act on the grievances of their drivers instead of leaving us at the mercy of these rogue drivers.
The reason Uber is thriving is because of the behaviour of the so-called special hires that overcharged passengers with impunity.
A piece of advice to all those who take Uber: make sure the meter is started as you watch to avoid some unscrupulous drivers charging you for the trips you never made.
Chriss Otim,
otimchriss@yahoo.com
Age limit bill: legislators should show their worth
President Museveni is ineligible to stand in the 2021 general elections because he will be above the age prescribed by the Constitution.
However, with the gazetted Constitution (Amendment) Bill, the president is set to remove his remaining hurdle to stand for the sixth term. As noted by Godbar Tumushabe, “what Museveni wants often becomes law”.
But how long is he going to amend our Constitution for his own greed and benefit? This is a call for every Ugandan to recognise that Article 1(1) of the Constitution provides that all power belongs to them. We should use this power to defend the Constitution.
It is also time for the legislators to take a stand and show their worth. Currently, Museveni is counting on the overwhelming NRM majority MPs to ensure successful amendment of Article 102(b) to his benefit. If the amendment goes Museveni’s way, MPs will cease to be called legislators.
Finally, it is absurd that our president wants to keep the citizens in third world corners through meaningless and selfish amendments. The president forgets the same Constitution gives him mandate to execute, maintain, abide by, and uphold and safeguard it as provided by article 99(2) and (3).
Brighton Aryampa,
Kampala.
Does the Bible accept incest?
There is something that has been disturbing me for some time.
As someone born in a Christian family, I was taught from an early age that the Bible is the most important book ever written and its contents are nothing but the truth.
Then I wonder; was the Bible promoting incest by invoking the Adam and Eve story?
How could people have ever started from one family tree?
Buganda, in particular, does not promote incest by scientific proof and cultural facts!
What should we believe?
Dan Bwanika,
bulemezi@gmail.com.
Is national graduate service law necessary?
The Ugandan parliament is in a process of passing a bill that seeks to establish a compulsory one-year national service for all the fresh graduates.
One of the interesting parts in this proposed law is the clause that seeks to bar graduates from getting employment in public service as long as that graduate does not possess a certificate to prove that he/she has dispensed with graduate service to the country!
The proponents of this bill may have good intentions for Ugandan graduates, but one important question is: where are jobs?
The number of labor market entrants has been increasing sharply over the years but job creation has been very slow. Some surveys put Ugandan youth unemployment at 80 per cent.
On several occasions, President Museveni is reported to have acknowledged that there are few jobs in public service. I, therefore, think our primary concern should be job-creation before we think of such laws.
This bill also talks of fresh graduates; what about those that graduated many years back and have failed to get jobs?
Lastly, are those in support of the bill thinking about the East African Community (EAC) federation, specifically that aspect of free movement of labour across EAC countries?
Kenedy Musekura,
kennedyndeze@yahoo.com.
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