Government has collected at least shs34 billion in the first year of tolling the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, the operation and maintenance contractor, Egis Road Operation has said.
Egis was last year awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of the greenfield section of the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, which links the capital to its international airport and the tolling officially kicked off on January 8, 2022.
Commenting about the first anniversary, Egis Road Operation Uganda General Manager, Yavuz Cagatay said a lot has been achieved in the past one year.
"We are very proud to celebrate our first year of tolling operations on the expressway. We surely could not have made it without you all," Cagatay said.
"I'm excited to share that we have recorded impressive growth in a number of key priority areas, hitting past the set targets in the past 12 months in which 7,300,000 motorists have used the road and a total revenue of shs34 billion collected."
Charges
Motorcycles with more than 400cc and not boda bodas pay shs3000, light vehicles shs5000, medium goods vehicles(2-3axles) shs10,000, large goods vehicles and buses(4-5 axles) shs15000 whereas large goods vehicles pay shs18000 according to the payment plan released by government on using the road.
Weekly users are given a 50% discount for seven-day return trips purchased in advance whereas monthly users have up to 70% in discount for 30 days return trips paid for in advance whereas electronic prepaid card users have 10% discount per trip
However, those who pay cash at the booth are not entitled to discounts unlike those using prepaid cards.
According to the Egis General Manager, with the use of the discount option on Upesi prepaid cards, they have got 1200 users who are registered daily.
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Mobile top-up options have been added for Upesi cards with partnerships with MTN Momo Pay, Airtel money, and Stanbic Bank to enable road users to conveniently top up their Upesi cards anywhere, anytime," he said.
He added that they have carried out sensitization drivers in the promotion of road safety which has led to a drop in the number of accident on the country's first expressway.
Going forward
According to the Egis Road Operation Uganda General Manager, their key focus areas this year are meant to ensure more convenience for motorists who use the country's first toll road.
He added that they will deepen the use of cashless means of payment along the expressway.
"Our objective is to increase the number of people who use the Upesi card. Cashless payments are the global trend and we would not like our customers to be left out. With the use of cashless payment systems, we will ensure that people spend less time at the tolls which improves the overall convenience of using the expressway," he said
"As much as we continuously sensitize road users and put out different messages about road safety, it ultimately depends on the road users' behavior change. As we go into the second year of tolling, we look forward to our continued partnerships with all stakeholders for the growth and development of the Kampala- Entebbe Expressway."
