Magufuli Bus Terminal: Of low revenue amid huge potential

Senior Journalist with The Citizen

Mwananchi Communications Limitted

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The loss is among the many challenges that are hampering the bus terminal which was designed to become one of the modern facilities in East Africa.

Dar es Salaam. Ubungo Municipality is missing more than Sh50 million every month due to more than 70 buses not using the Magufuli bus terminal as part of the dropping off and carrying off passengers as intended, The Citizen can reveal.
According to the municipal administration, a passenger entering the terminal for a travel ticket is required to pay at least Sh300 as entry fee.
The loss is among the many challenges that are hampering the bus terminal which was designed to become one of the modern facilities in East Africa.
Currently, the bus terminal is not used to its potential thus causing significant losses as 70 to 90 buses use smaller stations such as Urafiki and Shekilango located along Morogoro Road and others at River side (along Mandela road) for carrying and unloading passengers.
According to the authorities, the municipality is estimated to be losing more than Sh50 million per month from passengers only.
“The big expected targets may not be met due to some bus owners’ reluctance to use the modern facility despite having enough space to accommodate buses and passengers. We are missing out on huge revenue,” said Mr George Mzeru, head of finance and trade, Ubungo municipality.
He says the more than Sh50 billion worth facility provides services but has not started to operate fully because there is infrastructure that is not yet complete, but even with the current one, traders (with shops within the stand) still complain about taxes and levies they pay being higher than the conditions of their businesses.
According to Mr Mzeru, business has continued to be difficult because when the buses have left, there is no business as many people also leave the facility and this is due to many buses still continuing to use their small stations located at various parts of Dar es Salaam.
“The main purpose of this stand was to reduce congestion in other urban areas but also to see that this modern stand contributes revenue that can help improve other important infrastructure within the municipality such as schools, but as it is, we are far away from reaching potential,” he says.
Each bus that enters the stand pays Sh3,000 no matter where the passenger boarded, but for the passengers boarding outside the stand they do not pay and their recipients do not go to wait for them at the stand.
“We expected the revenue from the success of phase one to contribute to the completion of phase two, but this has not been the case. That is why even people decide to make the area as accommodation for lack of affordable hotels from within,” explains Mr Mzeru.
“From May, we expect to have a 40-room hotel with prices ranging from Sh20, 000 to Sh40, 000 to help passengers especially guests not to suffer from lack of accommodation,” he notes.
However, according to the Tanzania Bus Owners Association (Taboa) the stand is still small and cannot accommodate all buses while also complaining about an unfriendly environment.
But they also claim that there are not many services like petrol stations and car wash.
“We are only tolerating them to earn income, but they have to get out of their comfort zone and expand the stand,” Taboa secretary general, Mr Priscus John says.
He further says another nuisance that causes some owners to look for ways to help their customers is the distance to the Mbezi Luis bus terminal.

Commercially unfriendly
“Today if a person resides in Kigamboni and wants to board a 6am bus at the Magufuli facility in the morning for an upcountry trip, it is not safe at all for him... So the stand is not commercially friendly to be honest,” he tells The Citizen by telephone.
“There is no one who doesn’t like a friendly, accessible and safe environment for his work. Our stand is far away, and it still does not have a lot of infrastructure, thus prompting some bus owners to take services close to their customers,” he notes.
He says the authorities in the terminal have to invest more in ensuring a safe and comfortable business environment based on all services.
“No one will be reluctant to go in there if businesses are vibrant, this will help provide the income they (municipality) anticipate to earn.”
But, Ms Prisca Mjema, the municipal council’s business officer says it is true that bus owners have been complaining about inadequate space.
“We understand that one can have 30 buses, but as far as we know and from our assessment, the buses tend to overlap according to their routes, it is not possible for all 30 buses owned by an individual to find themselves at the terminal at the same time,” notes Ms Mjema.
She explains that there is currently enough space to receive all buses, as the packing area for buses is currently capable of receiving 1,180 buses at once.
“After realising that the upper part of the packing was still not enough, we decided to set up a special overnight packing area as well as a loading and drop-off area for passengers,” she says.
According to her, in the process of finding a lasting solution while continuing with the plan to complete the construction of phase two, which will see at least 3000 buses serviced at once, many buses have still been violating the process.
According to their analysis of all buses, she says during the low season like now the buses using the terminal are about 430 where per day at least between 280 and 290 buses overlap at the station.
Some of the owners of these buses have been arguing that they always bring buses there and pay their taxes, which the authorities object to saying they do not rely on bus taxes alone.
“We do not depend on the Sh3000 bus tax only, we need to earn income through individual passengers who will enter to book for travel tickets, we also depend on escorts and passenger receivers who enter by paying Sh300 and this is the purpose of having this facility,” Ms Mjema says.
“Before this project commenced, visibility studies were conducted in a commercial sense; how many buses will be accommodated and how will revenue be collected, but now things are completely different from what we intended.”
She states that they have already provided more than 100 bus offices in the building but there are buses that have abandoned the offices, “Someone has an office and a place to park his bus but he ignores it, this is a violation of the set rules.”
“In short, the regional commissioner and the Office of the President-Regional Administration and Local Governments have all been announcing that all buses must start here (Magufuli stand), so everyone must fulfil their responsibilities accordingly,” she exudes.
Mr Moses Rwehabula, a resident of Tabata Segerea says that the presence of Shekilango bus stations has made it much easier for him to travel, but he admits that the Magufuli stand should be used properly.
“At first when it started working all the buses obeyed and all the travellers knew that the Magufuli bus terminal was the station to board or book tickets, but later it was not so and we went on with life as it was,” he explains.
“However, the project belongs to the people and must generate revenue for further development. All authorities must oversee the implementation of this huge project otherwise it would remain a white elephant,” he adds.