OBLIQUE ANGLE : Review law on night bus travels

What you need to know:

  • But, it’s not only business persons who want to save time. There are social needs for which too time is of essence. Imagine a sick person travelling from the Kigoma Referral Hospital to the Muhimbili National Hospital. Think of a farmer sending his daughter to a college in Dar es Salaam and at the same time wants to get back to his farm soon.

Let’s talk about transport—long safari public buses, to be precise. Most of us know how important the transport sector is to an economy. And, as years pass, we realise how much our economy is quickly turning into a 24-hour business. Speed is of utmost importance in this matter.

But, it’s not only business persons who want to save time. There are social needs for which too time is of essence. Imagine a sick person travelling from the Kigoma Referral Hospital to the Muhimbili National Hospital. Think of a farmer sending his daughter to a college in Dar es Salaam and at the same time wants to get back to his farm soon.

Some of us recall the grisly accident that occurred on Christmas Eve in 1994. Tens of people were butchered. There was blood everywhere. The whole country trembled. This was a huge loss to the nation.

The accident marked the end of an era for long night-safari public buses. A decision was passed that up-country buses should only travel during the day.

In the past quarter of a century, road accidents have continued to claim thousands of lives. Most of these are lost due to road accidents involving public buses. The most vivid accidents involved Majinjah Bus in Mafinga and City Boys buses in Singida Region.

Recently, a colleague was travelling from up-country. By the time they reached Morogoro, it was already 10pm. They had to put up there for the night. Traffic regulations did not allow them to cover the remaining 200 kilometres to Dar es Salaam. He pointed out that aboard the bus; there were the sick, children, the elderly and businesspersons, just to mention a few. Had it been their decision, they would have chosen to proceed to Dar es Salaam.

So, some passengers went to night clubs to while away the time, a few went to pass the night in guest houses, but the majority spent the night aboard the stationary bus.

Imagine, you’re tired after travelling hundreds of kilometres only to end up sleeping on a bus seat. If you’re healthy, that may not be such a big problem, but what if you’re sick? And, of course, there are no mosquito nets in our buses. So, every night thousands of passengers feed the millions of mosquitoes at Msamvu Bus Terminal with their blood. This raises a number of health questions.

What is my call to Transport Minister Prof Makame Mbarawa and Traffic Chief Mohammed Mpinga? It’s time to revisit this road regulation. Let experts evaluate and weigh whether the night travel ban for public buses has helped the country cut number of accidents. Let them weigh the pros and cons comparing matters with neighbouring Kenya where long safari buses do travel even at night.

Let’s scrutinise all angles – socially, economically, psychologically and even politically.

Cheers