Percieved financial performance of public transport firms in the greater Kampala metropolitan area

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between fuel costs, cost of maintenance, passenger fares and charges and perceived financial performance of public transport firms. This research was motivated by the continuous failure of major public transport firms in the Kampala metropolitan area such as city bus, dream shuttles, Kaki group among others which is a clear indication of something wrong in the industry. The researcher adopted a cross sectional as well as descriptive and analytical research designs. The study was conducted in 200 public transport firms selected using simple random sampling while respondents were selected using purposive sampling technique. The data collected was edited for incompleteness and inconsistence to ensure correctness of the information given by the respondents. Epi Data software and the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Research findings indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the cost of maintenance, passenger fares and perceived financial performance. While there was also a significant negative relationship between fuel costs and perceived financial performance of public transport firms. Lastly there was an insignificant negative relationship between charges and perceived financial performance of public transport firms. The researcher therefore recommended that public transport firms should strive to increase the amount fares collected as well as properly manage and account for the fares they collect from passengers. Additionally, public transport firms should invest more funds in preventive maintenance, improve drivers’ behaviour to reduce fuel costs and implement sound management practices so as to enhance financial performance.