Latra creates App to monitor speeding motorists

Dar es Salaam. The Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) has come up with an application that will provide information about bus drivers interfere with the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS).

The Latra VTS was created to make bus transportation more efficient and reliable. Moreover, the security of the passengers was meant to be absolutely ensured with the tracking system.

However, as days go by, some bus drivers have been collaborating with technicians who install VTS, to tamper with the system making it difficult for authorities to monitor buses that go past speeding limits.

In a phone call interview yesterday, Latra director general, Habibu Suluo, said that to deal with this loophole, they have developed an application that stores information and sends feedback even when the system has been interfered with.

“At the moment Latra is going on with the process to identify all bus drivers, by connecting them with the app using their mobile numbers and National Identification Number (NIDA),” he revealed.

Mr Suluo stressed that the new technology will enable them to identify which driver is on which bus.

Latra, according to the director, has also trained traffic police on the system’s inner workings. Traffic police have welcomed the system, meaning that they won’t be present on the road especially for long distance routes.

According to Mr Suluo, they recently held a stakeholders meeting where they met with various players including traffic police and bus owners. It was here that they discovered bus drivers had been collaborating with technicians to tamper with the tracking.

Through the Latra Act of 2019, he said, the authority had the mandate to coordinate land transport safety activities, register crew and certify drivers.

“If a driver is found to have interfered with the system, he will be required to pay a Sh250, 000 penalty, and get banned if he continues to temper with the system,” he said.

Accounting for the festive season, he said despite Latra issuing short term driving licenses to 130 public commuter buses to avoid transport problems, unfortunately, a number of passengers paid higher fares.

Thus, he noted that the regulator will ensure every electronic ticketing vendor is registered and no vendor would be allowed to operate without being registered. “There must be discipline and order in these operations,” he added, “This will come into effect as soon as the regulations are in place.”

However, Tanzania upcountry bus union chairman, Majura Kafumu, refuted claims that bus drivers have colluded with anyone to interfere with the VTS.

“It is only that their VTS system has not been effective. It has been having many technical problems ever since it was introduced. The major reason Latra thinks we tamper with the system is because we usually report this to them and to bus owners whenever the VTS stops working. Now they think we interfere with the system,” he said.

Mr Kafumu noted that for a long time their association advised Latra to come up with a speed governing technology to avoid complaints and confusion because the speed governing technology would work best with electronic engines.

“These devices are specifically designed to avoid mistakes while connected. They are also tamper-proof and wear-and-tear proof. We don’t understand why Latra is so opposed to this idea and is always in favour of the VTS,” he said.