Commuter bus owners to run rapid transit system, says RC

Dar es Salaam. The government has allowed owners of commuter buses (daladala) here to temporarily operate the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

That was announced by Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Mecky Sadick when closing a meeting of daladala owners operating on Morogoro Road where the BRT infrastructure has been completed by over 80 per cent.

 “This is your chance to prove that you are able and willing to run the new public transport system according to required standards,” he said.

He noted that the onus was on them to show to the public in the city the expected changes in transport and the benefits of the project during the interim period they have been given.

He said 20.9km of the first phase of the BRT project were about to be completed.

According to the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart) Agency, all junctions along the project routes will have traffic lights by March 2015.

Daladala owners will be required to offer services  between March and mid 2016 when real operators will take over.   

Plans to get operators have already started.

Mr Sadick said the daladala owners would operate temporarily to avoid leaving the BRT infrastructure idle for that long period and possibly be damaged or vandalised.

Dart Agency chief executive officer Asteria Mlambo told daladala owners to use the interim period offered by the government well. “They should prove their capability,” she told journalists.

Daladala owners have been involved in various implementation stages of the project.

Some three months ago, the commuter bus owners entered into an agreement with Uda to become competitive.