Prime
Hungary’s vital role in facilitating urban transport in Dar es Salaam
Ikarus articulates buses manufactured in Hungary were a common in Dar es Salaam in the 1970 and 80s. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The Hungarian President may have been too young to recall how her country played a key role in the public transport system of Dar es Salaam in those years. Older Dar es Salaam residents surely remember.
Tanzania was recently blessed with a visit from the Hungarian President, Katalin Éva Veresné Novák, having been elected in the 2022 presidential election. Novák is the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the youngest president in the history of Hungary, elected at the age of 44. A University Graduate and mother of three, she took office on May 10, 2022. During her visit to Tanzania, she had opportunity to discuss with her counterpart, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and two leaders explored opportunities for cooperation between these two countries.
The Hungarian President may have been too young to recall how her country played a key role in the public transport system of Dar es Salaam in those years. Older Dar es Salaam residents surely remember.
Urban areas in developing countries are having to grapple with the problem of public transport. The urban areas are getting too big in terms of population and areas, but the infrastructure to cope with transporting these people, in terms of “hardware”, that is roads, railway tracks is inadequate and many times the system is not well networked.
The “software”, that is the buses and railway coaches, are inadequate and in many cases rickety. The system is hard, especially on the poor, who are forced to spend proportionately more of their income on transport, and not getting a very good deal for that.
Public transport in the city of Dar es Salaam, started in the late 1940s, when Dar es Salaam was a municipality, and was run by a private company known as Dar es Salaam Motor Transport (DMT). DMT also offered upcountry bus services.
In 1974, in line with the Country’s policy of Ujamaa, growing out of the Arusha Declaration of 1967, DMT was nationalised and a number of transport institutions owned by the state were created.
These were, Usafiri Dar es Salaam (UDA), to provide public bus transport in the now City of Dar es Salaam. Then there was Kampuni ya Mabasi ya Taifa (KAMATA) to offer upcountry bus transport services. Regional transport companies were created (RETCOs) to provide cargo transport services throughout the country, each region having its own company
Another institution, the National Transport Corporation, was created as a holding company which was to regulate and service these other companies.
Public transport is a big problem and UDA services, which started off well, started to deteriorate. The buses became fewer and fewer and the frequency longer. So it was common to see huge crowds of people waiting at a bus stand, and when one came, it was the struggle of the fittest, who gets in and who is left behind, Needless to say, these buses were overcrowded to more than capacity.
It was in those circumstances, that the idea of bringing in long and articulated buses which could take many people at the same time was conceived. The preferred buses were those from Hungary known as Ikarus. The fact that Hungary, was a socialist country, may have played a part in influencing decision makers.
Ikarus was a bus manufacturer based in Budapest and Székesfehérvár, Hungary. It was established in 1895 as Imre Uhry's Blacksmith Workshop and Coach Factory and during the Communist era in Hungary it dominated bus markets of the entire Eastern Bloc and its allies. The old bi-articulated Ikarus buses are no longer manufactured but the brand name is still there.
Ikarus buses were very popular in Dar es Salaam with their deep yellow colours. They were even given a local descriptive name: Ikarus Kumbakumba, which roughly means Ikarus gather-all; or leave nobody behind. They were a relief to the travellers of Dar es Salaam, much as they soon to be overcrowded. Songs, stories and other legends were created in praise of Ikarus Kumbakumba.
I am sure, the older folks in Dar es Salaam, still look back with nostalgia at the old good days when Ikarus ruled the city roads.
In looking for areas of cooperation between Tanzania and Hungary, public transport could be an area well-worthy investigating. The current BRT buses, much as they come from China, very much reflect the older Ikarus. It is also understood that an electric version of the famous Ikarus is under production. Since Tanzania is also thinking of getting electric, this could be an area worthy looking into.
All said and done, it was nice to have the Hungarian President visit Tanzania. It was nice to have the Hungarian Ikarus buses on our roads.
