What Latra’s new bus tracking system means

Dar es Salaam. If you are expecting a visitor who is travelling by bus from any region in Tanzania, you will no longer have to go and wait for them at the station because you will be able to monitor the bus through your phone.

This is because the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) has designed an innovative system known as the Passenger Information System or Passenger Information Display (PIS).

The PIS enables one to access to information about the exact location and arrival of upcountry buses.

Latra head of communications Salum Pazzy told The Citizen at the 48th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) that the system seeks to enhance the accessibility and transparency of transport information.

“We aim to enhance the travel experience for travellers by ensuring that they are well informed. They are able to receive visitors and can plan their journeys with greater ease and confidence,” he said.

“For a start, Latra has already displayed the PIS at the Magufuli Bus Terminal and at the Job Ndungai Bus Terminal. We are currently piloting the system but as time goes, we will install the screens in every major bus terminal countrywide where people can see what happens to which bus,” Mr Pazzy said.

He added that the system was a web-based application whereby the user or anyone with a smart phone, computer or any other related gadget could search on the Latra address bar on the web and get the information.

For instance, Mr Pazzy said, when one is at the Dar es Salaam’s Magufuli Bus Terminal expecting to receive a visitor, he/she just have to choose the terminal application and the PIS will display various buses, showing the exact bus, current location and estimated time of arrival right by using their own mobile phones.

He stressed that there was no need to call the driver or conductor to ask the whereabouts of the bus.

“It is quite similar to the one in airports were we can see the coming of flights and expected time of arrival and departure as well. This will apply to all upcountry buses,” he said.

The PIS enables anyone to interact with it from anywhere and it is the first one in East Africa, he said.

According to him, Latra is encouraging the public to start using the system and to give the authority feedback regarding anything they would want to be improve according its current functioning.

“This system is subsystem of the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), the VTS is connected to all intercity buses, and their buses will have the opportunity to interact with PIS,” he said.

So far, over 10,000 upcountry buses have been installed with VTS which, he said, has been successful in supporting passengers’ safety.

A resident of Kimara, Judith Chuwa who visited Latra’s pavilion, applauded the move, saying it will help passengers’ relatives to save time and avoid people from spending their precious unnecessarily in bus stands.

Latra Consumers Consultative Council (Latra CCC) executive secretary Daud Daudi applauded the authority for coming up with the PIS initiative.

“It is something that we have been waiting for especially because it gives passengers the privilege to access information. It will also improve services to consumers because they will know the real time information about expected time the bus is to arrive,” he said.

Mr Daudi added that PIS system will increase the safety of passengers and also the time that relatives spend waiting for travellers.