New BRT buses stuck at Dar port

Dar es Salaam. Despite the arrival 70 new rapid transit commuter buses to improve transport services in the sprawling city, there is still no hope that the buses will start providing service anytime soon.

This is partly because the owners have yet to complete clearance from customs authorities at the nation’s biggest seaport--Port of Dar es Salaam.

On checking at some of the bus rapid transit (BRT) stations in the city, The Citizen found hordes of commuters queuing up for long periods as they waited for the much-lauded Uda-RT (Usafiri Dar es Salaam Transit) buses to arrive.

Speaking to The Citizen at the Mbezi-Luis bus stand on the city’s outskirts yesterday, some commuters said there is a real need for the system to speed up the port clearing processes so that the new buses can start running on city roads – doing the job for which they were imported at great cost using scarce foreign exchange.

“If and when the new buses hit the roads running, this would significantly reduce queuing, especially early in the mornings and evenings,” commuter Sekunda Chilambo said, adding that the rapid transport system had just as rapidly become popular with commuters, and “is being used by thousands of Dar residents.”

Passengers at the Kimara bus terminal expressed similar sentiments.

“It is almost a week now since we heard about the arrival of the new buses. So, why is it taking too long to get the buses operating?” queried Mr Richard Kitindi, a commuter at Kimara, who was heading for the central business district. Commenting on the matter, the Head of Communications at Uda-RT, Mr Deus Bugaywa, told The Citizen that the management is “finalising motor vehicle registration and licensing processes” before the buses start operating.

Noting that “the new buses are still under care of the customs clearing agent who has not completed the required processes in the port,” Mr Bugaywa revealed that they were also working on the vehicles registration – and urged commuters to be patient.

The new buses will raise the number of Uda-RT buses from the current number of 140 buses plying the Mbezi-Kimara-Kivukoni-Gerezani-Morocco and the Muhimbili-Gerezani routes

More than 200,000 commuters currently use Uda-RT buses daily– a number that is due to rise to between 400,000 and 500,000 per day in the sprawling city that is home to an estimated 5.5 million souls.