Study reveals public transport needs
THE assessment study carried out by Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (DART) reveals that people are still having a significant demand for public transport in the country with rural areas having an average of 85 per cent.
The statement was made by the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (DART) Director of Human Resources Management and Administration, Dr Eliphas Mollel, during the ongoing five-day training for journalists organized by DART in Dodoma with the aim of building awareness and understanding of its project in all six phases.
He said the assessment carried out by DART from 2021 to determine the actual situation of public transport in various cities in the country shows that Mbeya tops the list by having a need for public transport by 95 per cent.
Other cities are Mwanza at 90 percent, Tanga at 88 per cent, Pwani at 86 percent, Dar es Salaam at 85 percent, Dodoma at 80 percent, and Arusha at 70 percent.
“Thus, with these statistics, this situation shows the need for a strong system to coordinate, plan, manage, implement and monitor public transport services in cities.” said Dr Mollel.
He said that the assessment has been reached and is a step in the drafting of the Urban Mass Transit Authority Act.
A law that will establish various principles and rules that will enable DART to transform from an agency to an authority that implements many things, including the delivery of careful public transport services in other cities.
A team of experts from the President’s Office, Regional Administrations, and Local Government Authorities (PO-RALGA), together with DART, are working together to prepare a document to improve public transport in cities where, until now, the stage reached was to work on the improvements and the opinions of the Ministers Council, where these opinions have already been worked on and the document has been handed back to the PO-RALGA for presentation once again in the Council for further steps.
The Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (DART) was established under the President’s Office, Regional Administrations, and Local Government Authorities (PO-RALGA), through government announcement number 120 dated May 25, 2007 issued under agency law number 30 of 1997 as amended from time to time.
According to the order of establishment, the three main goals of the agency are to establish and run the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the city to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles on urban streets and roads and to ensure effective management of the agency.
