(URN)Operators of water vessels plying to Ssesse islands in Kalangala district have revised their transport schedules over the apparent high demand for transport created by an influx in passengers.
The vessel operators have been prompted to adjust in the operations, to increase on the number trips they make between Kalangala islands to the mainland at Bukakata-Masaka district and Nakiwogo Landing site in Entebbe.
Engineer John Baptist Lubega, the Marine Transport Manager at Kalangala Infrastructure Services limited-KIS; a firm that operates two ferries between Bukakata landing site on the Masaka mainland, and Luku in Kalangala district, say they have increased their daily round trips to 20 from sixteen due to the apparent demand for service.
Unlike in the previous year’s festive season when the covid-19 restrictions on transport were still tight, Lubega indicates that the many people have taken advantage of the current breather to visit the islands for leisure, hence making the route very busy.
He says they have registered an increase in the volume of traffic between Kalangala islands and the mainland which warranted adjustments in their normal work schedule.
Lubega adds that the additional trips are also helping them to decongest the vessels as one of the intervention to reduce the risk of spreading covid-19 virus among passengers.
Between Kalangala and Nakiwogo landing site in Entebe, National Oil Distributors Limited-NODL, a company operating MV Kalangala on behalf of government has adjusted the schedule to introduce a second trip between the two destinations.
Hakim Bwanika, the spokesperson for NODL, says the new schedule is based on the need to observe Covid-19 standard operating procedures-SOPs and also from high number of people who make their bookings to Kalangala.
“So we have made changes based on data from callers and also those who confirmed when they would travel during the festive season,” he says.
Bwanika says; the vessel now makes two trips from Kalangala at 7:30am and 3:30pm and two return trips from Nakiwogo at 11:30am and 02 pm, in which on average it carries 10 vehicles and at least 100 passengers.
Many tourists flock Kalangala especially during the festive season for forest walks, boat cruises, picnics and bird watching among other leisure activities.
Bwanika says they want to ensure their transport vessel carries hundreds of these tourists by increasing the number of trips throughout the festive season.
Twenty-one-year-old Mildred Maneno and Caroline Akot, aged 22 years both residents of Buwaya Island in Wakiso are some of the people who have ambitions of visiting Kalangala for holidays.
They two young ladies observe that the additional trips will enable them move to the Islands with less transport hustles.
