E-ticketing: The clock is ticking for bus operators
Latra and TRA say problems that were encountered in 2020 have been resolved.
What you need to know:
- Buses that will not have adopted the system by September 1, 2022 will either be taken off the road or their owners required to pay a Sh250,000 penalty
Dar es Salaam. Operators of 1,883 buses that ply upcountry routes now have only 11 days to comply with the new e-ticketing system or face penalties, the land transport regulator said yesterday.
The number represents 48 percent of all the 3,916 buses plying the upcountry routes that are meant to adopt the e-ticketing system, the director general for the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra), Mr Habibu Suluo said in Dar es Salaam.
Initially, bus operators were to adopt the e-ticketing system starting the end of June, but Latra decided to give them a two-month grace period that expires on August 31, 2022. “Thus, buses that will not have adopted the system will be banned from operating or pay a penalty of Sh250,000 starting September 1, 2022,” he said.
As of yesterday, Mr Suluo said it was only 2,033 buses that had adopted the e-ticketing system. “This indicates that 1,883 were yet to adopt the system. Our target is to ensure that we implement the system by 100 per cent, thus to avoid inconvenience the operators should adopt it,” he said.
According to him, Latra will deploy its staff member in every bus station countrywide to inspect passengers’ tickets and those bus owners found to be issuing manual tickets will be liable for the fines.
Mr Suluo stressed starting next week, Latra will list down and mention the number of buses that have adopted the system so that the passengers could choose the buses that provide electronic tickets before they travel. “Passengers must also go for the buses that sell electronic tickets to avoid unnecessary challenges,” he said.
Latra director of road transport Johansen Kahatano said enforcing the use of electronic tickets needed the involvement of every person.
“Passengers and general public at large should be in the forefront to ensure that they become ambassadors and refuse manual tickets. Once people adopt the system it becomes easy to compensate them when there is an accident,” he said.
He stressed the operators should be aware that this was not the first time that Latra was urging them to shift to the electronic system, noting that there will be no more time for those unwilling to change.
“This is the second time Latra insists on electronic tickets, thus, companies or operators that have not prepared themselves this time around will be taken to be people who are not willing to move with transition,” he said. He said Latra will not register or renew bus licences that will expire if they do not adopt the e-ticketing system.
The shift to e-ticketing seeks to improve transportation, cutting revenue loss, increasing transporters’ credibility before financial institutions, reducing inconveniences from dealers and arbitrary hike in transport fare.
The system would enable stakeholders including Latra, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the ministry responsible for transport, Tanzania Bus Operators Association (Taboa), the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) and the National Internet Data Centre (NIDC) to access similar data from the platform.
