City commuters calls for police intervention

AS the notorious habit practiced by commuter bus operators in the city of Dar es Salaam of shortening their routes is growing at an alarming rate, some city commuters have called on the regional traffic police to intervene in the current situation. The call of commuters comes about despite of a regular crackdown amounted by SUMATRA’s secret agents who have been tasked to net the notorious operators along various designated routes, but seemingly the task force team have been overwhelmed by the exercise due to a great number of defaulting commuter buses plying along the mostly affected routes. The most affected passengers and their routes are those who head to far flung areas such as Gongo La Mbotto, Mbagala, Mwenge Tegeta and Mbezi whereby they are experiencing problems of boarding commuter buses destined to their respective areas of domicile during evening and night picking hours. Investigations by this paper has discovered that in order for them to reach their destinations, they have to make a number of connections an aspect which forces them to pay their fares either thrice or more for a single journey. It has discovered during a sting operation secretly carried over the week that, sometimes a passenger is forced to pay twice as much as the normal fare indicated by the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority for a single trip during night hours. Interviewed passengers at Buguruni commuter bus stand complained recently that, “they have to connect their journey by boarding more than three buses in order to arrive to their respective homes before mid-nights”. Investigations by this paper has overlooked into the magnitude of the matter and found out that, the persisting problem is due to few commuter buses serving the area on time which is exacerbated by the habit of some bus operators of not going the whole distance of their designated routes as required and instead divert them to other routes. In view of this, commuters are being subjected to the harassment of scrambling to board the few available ones and sometimes forced to accept hiked fare which is announced randomly by operators and for no alternative cause, have to accept to board in order to reach to their destinations. The scrambling for buses at some bus stops has paved the way for thieves who takes the advantage once mingled and pretends to be passengers with a view to make their mischief. A spot check at Buguruni commuter bus stop last week found scores of passengers who had been stranded at around 22:30 at night, most of whom were women and children who had traveled from other places like Mwenge, Tegeta and Ubungo waiting to connect their journeys after having been abandoned by notorious drivers who do not reach to their final destinations in places like Gongo La Mboto, Temeke and Mbagala. Speaking to this paper, some passengers expressed concern over the situation and noted that, have been spending a lot of money everyday as fare to and from their work places.

However, some of them have blamed the traffic police manned on the road for their failure to curb the situation. Those unable to afford such connections for a double trip journeys and pay more fares spend more hours at the stage waiting for a single plying service and consequently find themselves reporting late to their homes. Due to impeding situation, they have asked the police force to intervene in order to ensure their safety.  Some interviewed drivers have commented on the issue and said that, the habit enables them to make a good profit margin at the end of a day’s work. However, they have cited the increased traffic jam slows their operations and hence collects little at the end. In order to supplement for any loss incurred, they have to shorten their routes and divert themselves to another one, thus by doing this are certain to make a good profit says Rashid Mwamkambo a driver of the bus plying between Mwenge and Gong La Mboto. According to him, his employer demands Sh.100,000 cash a day for the whole day’s work, but it sometimes gets him not to have fulfilled a half of the money by 15.00 hours in the evening. “All this is due to traffic jam on the road’ he said. He also cited the increased costs on fuel consumption to run their vehicles which he said is consumed during traffic jam. Contacted for comment, Public Affairs Manager of Surface and Marine Transport Authority (SUMATRA) David Mziray who admitted being aware of such violations, said his institution plans to revoke the driver’s licenses if found notorious of such malpractice. According to him about 257 daladala operators have been apprehended in the recent crackdown amounted by his organization and noted that measures to be taken against those found defaulting such rules would face severe punishment alongside the revocation of their driving licenses. The penalty for a driver who diverts his route is fined between Tsh. 10,000 and Tsh. 25,000 or withdrawal of his driving license for three weeks to six months or both. But critics have commented that, the punishment given to them was not enough to streamline the defaulters.