Some time back, KCCA ran an advert inviting
consultants to conduct studies on piloting a cable car system in Kampala city.
Media reports indicate that feasibility studies for a pilot cable car system
from Kawempe to the new park and to Makindye have been conducted though their
results have not been made public yet.
A KCCA Supplement that appeared
in the New Vision Newspaper of 30th April 2014 states that, “The
system can be installed easily, provides unique ride experiences to passengers
and are reliable”. I would like to respectfully challenge this statement
because in my opinion, it is not all true.
First of all, a cable car system
requires a huge infrastructure input. This is in relation to installation of
access lifts, ramps, vehicles and cables. In addition to the initial cost of
this infrastructure, there’s the cost of maintenance of cables on a regular
basis as they get worn out fast when used frequently.
Secondly, the reliability of a
cable car system is majorly premised on a reliable power supply. Operating
cable cars would require a cheap and reliable power supply which unfortunately
is not available in Kampala. Our power is neither cheap nor reliable. Uganda
ranks among the top countries with the highest cost of electricity and is still
grappling with frequent power outages. This means that unless KCCA intends to use
power from another service provider other than UMEME, which I don’t think, it is
not sustainable to design and install a cable car system in the city when these
problems are still apparent. Otherwise passengers may get stranded for hours in
the air mid journey due to power outages.
More so, Kampala experiences
traffic congestions during peak hours which fall in the morning as people head
to work and evening hours as they return home. Normally, during this time,
passenger behavior indicates that all people care about is to get to where they
are going and to get there fast. The ‘unique riding experience’ that KCCA is
hoping to achieve with cable cars is not a priority during these hours.
Cable cars are designed to
transport passengers up and down hills and across valleys. Though they can be
used in relatively flat and slightly undulating terrain, their efficiency is
reduced and they require more traction which might have to be provided by
increasing the power supply. This of course has a ripple effect on the cost of
running the system.
Furthermore, Cable cars generally
have a low capacity carrying up to a maximum of about 8 to 10 passengers at a
time in order to avoid too much weight on the suspended cables. Such a mode of
transport cannot be a reasonable replacement for 14-seater matatus that KCCA is
planning to ban from the city.
Finally, there is the issue of
stages and flexibility in route selection. The cable car system requires
braking towers at each stage for people to alight and others enter. Since it is not possible to have these towers
constructed in the middle of town where almost every inch of land is occupied
by a building, the system may face a challenge of having to drop passengers
further away from their destinations which will be an inconvenience to them.
Public transportation
planning is a complicated task, especially since over the years many systems
have evolved and grown beyond their original designs. New additions to
transportation systems are expensive, and building these additions is often
disruptive to existing systems and/or city structures. Each new system must be
carefully planned. Population density, employment density, prospects for
growth, per capita income, car ownership, and life cycle cost are some of the
factors that must be considered when planning public transportation systems. Past
operating practices and procedures, coverage of the current system, fare
prices, land use, street patterns, settlement patterns and availability or
possibility of off-street transit should also be taken into account.
However, the overriding aims that
the planners should have in mind while planning include maximization of
ridership (capacity), efficiency and reliability of operations, potential to
foster new residential and commercial developments, cost of construction and
maintenance. No simple formula can determine which system to employ or where it
should be built but the above factors go a long way towards making the right
choice.
While planning for three million
people in the city, high capacity modes of public transport should be
introduced to solve traffic congestion alongside reasonable regulation of entry
of private vehicles into the city.
My thinking is that a rapid bus transport
system, speed trains and trams are more realistic options and better suited for Kampala than cable cars.
