Passengers plead for lift of night travel ban

Morogoro. Passengers travelling to Dar es Salaam from far regions like Kagera, Mwanza and Mbeya, have pleaded to the government to lift a ban on night travel by passenger vehicles.

The passengers are concerned that forcing them to sleep midway affects their traveling costs and the situation is worse among those who are travelling with children.

Speaking at Msavu bust stand in Morogoro, Shiraji Nyanda, one of the passengers whose bus was stopped, said security has improved along Morogoro-Dar section of the road therefore there was nothing to fear.

He also noted that there were few vehicles on the road during night thus reducing the possibility of accidents.

“Buses should be allowed to travel after midnight because conditions which prevailed when the ban was introduced have been overtaken by time,” he said adding:

"We know that the ban was introduced with good intention but the situation has improved such that it (the ban) is no longer relevant.”

Another passenger, Ms Jane Arnold, said she had to incur extra costs to tender for children whom she was travelling with.

But the head of traffic unit in Morogoro District, Mr Victor Ayo, asked the passengers to be considerate as the ban was introduced to make sure that they arrive at their final destinations safe.

He said it was dangerous to allow a driver who has been driving for such long hours during the day to continue with the journey at night.

“Such driver is basically tired… therefore, when we ban them from traveling at night we think of safety of the passengers. Besides, there are many lorries which travel at such time therefore possibility of collision is very high,” he explained.