‘We are unaware of Udart’s 70 buses at the port’ says Dart

What you need to know:

Udart has a total of 140 buses, with a 160 carrying capacity buses standing at only 39, while the carrying capacity of the remaining ones being 90 passengers.

Dar es Salaam. Delay in port clearance of 70 buses worth $18.2 million (about Sh41.1 billion at the prevailing exchange rate) owned by Usafiri Dar es Salaam Rapid Transport (Udart) is due to lack of official communication with the regulator, The Citizen has learnt.

Speaking to The Citizen in a phone interview on Wednesday, Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart) public relations manager William Gatambi said that his office was unaware of the matter. 

“We are unaware of the matter. Udart did not ask us for the clearance permit,” he said. He went further to explain, contrary to their contract with Dart, Udart did not even consult the former about the purchasing of the18-meter “articulated” buses, which were meant to reduce the challenge of overcrowding in the city.

But Udart Head of communications Mr Deus Bugaywa is positive that their consignment would be cleared by June because of a high end meeting that will happen on that month. 

“The country expects to host the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)’s annual Sustainable Transport Summit organized in partnership with the Volvo Research and Education Foundations in June. I don’t think the government will let its guests witness the current situation,” Mr Bugaywa said.

Things are not good on the grounds, when passengers board Dar’s rapid buses in the busiest routes in the city, in peak hours, it is rare to find an open seat or a place to stand comfortably as they are always full. The problem is acute especially in the morning when passengers are on their way to town, at around 6am to 9am and in the evening at around 4pm to 8pm. Some of the busier routes identified are Kimara-Gerezani, Kariakoo/Posta, Gerezani-Kimara and Posta- Kimara.

The available buses, according to Mr Bugaywa, are not enough to address the challenge of overcrowding due to increased demand from 50, 000 passengers per day to between 180,000 and 200, 000 passengers.

Udart has a total of 140 buses, with a 160 carrying capacity buses standing at only 39, while the carrying capacity of the remaining ones being 90 passengers.

The figures, according to Dart’s Gatambi, are well below 305 buses, which were supposed to be there in phase one.

Furthermore, Udart said overcrowding was speeding up depreciation of buses.

“It is not only affecting our levels of investment but also life span of our buses. As soon as the government gives us its blessings, we expect to take to the road a total of 70 buses with a carrying capacity of 160 passengers,” said Mr Bagaywa and added, “We understand that the government is aware of the problem. We are hopeful it will not take long for the consignment to be cleared.”

Last year, Tanzania won the 2018 Sustainable Transport Award following the launching of a series of transformative improvements to transit, cycling and walking. A winner for 2018 June to 2019 June would be announced in the upcoming summit here in the city.