How realistic is a Cable Car System in Kampala city?

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 30^th 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.