Dart to furnish 95 new buses for BRT

Dar es Salaam. The Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (Dart) is set to bring 95 new buses for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) before the end of this year.

This will bring the total number of buses plying the first phase of the BRT project to 305.

Currently, the phase has 210 buses.

The Dart chief executive officer Edwin Mhede said yesterday that the addition of 95 more buses was a measure to reduce congestion of passengers at the BRT terminals.

He made the remarks in Dar es Salaam yesterday when he graced a training session on street designs for Dart staff members who are responsible for the design and implementation of the urban streets in the city.

The training is organised by Dart in partnership with the UN Habitat and the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.

“In a deliberate effort to reduce commuter congestion, we brought 70 more buses last year but due to eagerness and high demand by commuters for BRT services, the challenged has largely remained hence the need to bring in more buses,” he said.

He said in the past, passengers were subjected to being on the waiting line for 30 minutes but after deploying the 70 buses last year, the period went down to only five minutes before a passenger gets a bus to his/her destination.

With the new buses that are expected later this year, the waiting time will go down further. It will also reduce cases of accidents at BRT terminals that happen mostly when passengers cross the lanes while in a hurry.

“There will be no need for commuters to make shortcuts and rush for buses…It is important to consider your safety first before making the decision to stop on those lanes,” he said.

Dart, in partnership with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.