Assessing the relevance of having an online vehicle parking system in Uganda, a case of Kampala capital city authority

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the relevance of having an online vehicle parking system in Uganda, and the study was guided by the following three objectives; assessing the challenges and limitations of the manual vehicle parking system in Uganda, examining the global view of online vehicle parking systems in busy towns, and the suitability of the operating environment for online vehicle parking systems in Uganda.

A cross-sectional research design, and both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in the collection and analysis of the data as a form of data methodological triangulation. A sample size of 200 respondents; comprising of 18 managerial and 182 non managerial staff members from drivers for public and private transport means, Multiplex staff members, managers of buildings with parking space, traffic officers, users of buildings that are next to roads. Stratified sampling was used in selecting the samples. SPSS software and Microsoft Excel respectively were used in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

Findings revealed that Manual vehicle parking system work with total dependence on guards, no control of visitors moving in and out of the parking premises, motorists have to wait for long time to be availed with parking space, and unnecessary vehicle movement in search for parking space causes unnecessary traffic congestion, wastage of time in search for hard-to-find parking space. The study recommends Kampala Capital City Authority to set up an online vehicle parking system for motorists as a way of mitigating the current challenges associated with vehicle parking reservations and space in the city.