Most of the passengers who work in and around Kampala business district on Monday used Boda Bodas as means of transports to commute to work. The boda boda fairs almost doubled as taxis went on strike. Inset is the view of the old taxi park on Monday morning. Photos by Steven Otage 

Commercial motorcycle riders, Boda Bodas, in Kampala are in brisk business and have doubled fares after most Taxi drivers parked their vehicles in protest over alleged “inhumane treatment and cheating” by officials of their umbrella association, Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA).
Residents are having a nightmare accessing the inner city and hundreds trekked from their homes to walk places. There is less motorised traffic on the roads, though. The usually jammed Old and New Taxi parks are largely empty.
Those who can afford to hitch Boda rides are paying double the ordinary fares. Betty Ndagire, an Intern with the Daily Monitor, says the cost of travelling on Boda from Nansana and Namungoona, two city suburbs, on Monday doubled to Shs4, 000 and Shs2, 000, respectively.
Desperate residents are piling on some of the motorcycles, flouting traffic rules unchecked.
A section of striking members under Drivers and Conductors Central Association (DCCA) issued a statement early on Monday, calling off the strike, but there appears to be no immediate impact.
The Association’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Kasawuli William, urges all drivers to resume work normally as they wait to meet Vice President Edward Ssekandi on Monday and President Museveni later tomorrow.
The agreement was reportedly reached at during an emergency meeting between the Association officials and Information Minister Mary Karooro Okurut. 
The striking drivers want the “illegal” Welfare Fees collected by UTODA from drivers scrapped. They also say they are harassed and sometimes illegally detained by UTODA officials. Government is promising to investigate these allegations to resolve the impasse and normalise travel within and outside the city.
Ms Okurut is reported to have said government is willing to listen to the drivers and address their grievances.
UTODA officials charge each taxi exiting the Old or New Parks they manage, some Shs4,500 daily and Shs20,000 monthly. However, the same taxi drivers/conductors pay un-receipted fees of between Shs1,000 and Shs40,000 depending on the route, supposedly to cater for the drivers’ welfare. DACCA also claims UTODA impounds vehicles of drivers who resist paying the levies and holds some of the errant ones incommunicado.
In Jinja, defiant taxi drivers on Monday liaised with the police to give them security in order to transport the passengers to their intended destinations.
Reports are coming in of fist- fights  in some city outskirts between the striking drivers and their colleagues who prefer to continue with business. Those on strike are alleging “betrayal”.
Our reporter, Abdu Kiyaga in Bweyogere, says earlier in the morning, passengers in taxis exiting from the inner city were forcibly ejected by vigilantes pushing ahead with the strike.
Private car hire drivers are also making a kill by charging passengers double the ordinary fares, he says.