Tanzania to start using fare meter for taxis

Dar es Salaam. The Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) is set to install electronic meters to taxis that would enable customers to pay fares according to kilometres travelled.

The new technological equipment are expected to be installed in the vehicles before June 2023, a move that will allow  customers to see the transportation costs as they travel.

Latra acting director general Johansen Kahatano said yesterday that the move has come after mounting pressure from taxi operators requesting the introduction of electronic meters in vehicles providing the services.

“Since the introduction of ride-hailing taxi operators including Uber and Bolt, the requests for introduction of the system from taxi operators have been on the increase,” he said.

Mr Kahatano was speaking during the stakeholders’ meeting aimed at collecting stakeholder’s opinions for suitable arrangements that would benefit customers and operators.

“It should be noted that today we are not setting fares for taxi operations, rather we’re collecting views from stakeholders before the installation of electronic meters. Every stakeholder is involved to avoid poor engagement of players when the system comes to official commencement.” He said Tanzania will be the second East African country to introduce electronic meters to taxis after Rwanda that remained the sole country to have recorded the milestone.

According to him, the system will benefit both clients and operators as when someone hires a taxi, the system will indicate the price for required kilometres of drive as the journey continues.

Opening the meeting, Ilala District Commissioner (DC) Ng`wilabuzu Ludigija said taxi services have for many years been reliable means of transport for citizens in different parts of the country.

He commended Latra for the decision to install electronic meters, saying the trust and customers’ confidence will significantly increase.

Mr Ludigija said in foreign countries where taxi meters have been installed in the cars that provide such services, customers’ confidence was high even to the level of suspending trips whenever they find unable to service travel charges.

“The government intends to engage the private sector in the plan in order to boost the country’s economy and the income of individual citizens,” he said, noting that the service has been relied by different groups of people.

The Tanzania Taxi Association (TTA) chairman, Mr Ramadhani Shiru, said the decision to introduce electronic taxi meters is welcomed as it will differentiate real and bogus operators.

He urged Latra to install high quality electronic devices, connect them to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and ensure they cannot be easily tempered by anyone. “The system should allow tracking of clients and taxi drivers,” he said.

The taxi and passengers council acting secretary general, Mr Leo Ngowi said there have been numerous complaints involving customers and drivers over price fixing, commending the decision to introduce electronic meters.

“This is among the methods that will permanently eliminate the complaints. Latra should arrange for awareness training to the public in order to stem future complaints especially when it is rolled out for implementation,” he said.