Dart set to introduce new smart cards
What you need to know:
Dart chief executive officer Ronald Lwakatare told The Citizen yesterday that the move came after realising that out of 200,000 cards they sold, when they started the service, only 50,000 have been in use.
Dar es Salaam. The Dar es Salaam Agency Rapid Transit (Dart) will soon introduce new smart cards, whereby Usafiri Rapid Transit (Udart) commuters will have to register personal information before purchasing the cards, The Citizen can reveal.
Dart chief executive officer Ronald Lwakatare told The Citizen yesterday that the move came after realising that out of 200,000 cards they sold, when they started the service, only 50,000 have been in use.
Mr Lwakatare also explained that they were in the process of finding a new service provider. However, they will first collect particulars from commuters wishing to own smart cards. This will help commuters report the case to the police, when the card is lost. He said the introduction of smart card was to make the payment easier and faster. Commuters will avoid scrambling for tickets from a single window at bus stops. Mr Lwakatare said the first phase of the project Dart started with 140 buses instead of 305 buses, but so far there were in process to obtain a new investor for purchasing 165 buses, operation and maintenance of buses. In May this year, Dart re-advertised a tender for service providers to support maintenance and purchase additional buses.
