The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) will issue guidelines on fares of commuter motorbikes (Bodaboda) and tricycled vehicles (Bajaj).
The move is in apparent response to unregulated fares by the vehicles, especially after the recent hike of fares for commuter buses (Daladala) in Dar es Salaam and upcountry bus fares. SUMATRA Senior officer, Conrad Shio, said the regulatory authority has not increased transport fares for bodaboda and bajaj. Some Bodaboda and Bajaj operators hiked transport charges following recent increase of fare for commuter buses in the city and buses plying between Dar es Salaam and upcountry.
Mr Shio said the regulatory body will prepare guidelines for Bodaboda and Bajaj ferrying passengers from one area to another. A cross-section of Bajaj and Bodaboda users interviewed by ‘Daily News’ noted that some Bodaboda and Bajaj have increased their fares by between 500/- and 1,000/- per route.
Ms Salma Khamis, a resident in Masaki noted that for a route she previously paid 1,500/- it is now 2,000/-, since Sumatra hiked commuter bus fares. Although the users have maintained that Bodaboda and Bajaj fares have been increased, operators of such vehicles have said that the fares are negotiable.
“This is a free market and so we do not have common fares that have been set by any regulatory body, you just have to negotiate with your customer, depending on the distance your passenger will be going,” said Edward Malima, a Bodaboda rider at Temeke. Mr Chris Massawe who operates in Vingunguti area, noted that there are licensed Bodaboda and Bajaj which have to pay tax.
According to him, due to lack of regulation, some of them (operators) raise fares at their will. “After the bus fare hike I also had to increase the fare due to increased costs of fuel, I charge 1,500/- in a place where I was previously charging 1,000/-.” said Ally Juma, a Bodaboda operator at Kimara. Last week, the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda told the National Assembly that the government is mulling introduction of a system to identify operators of Boda Bodas in the country, as part of its efforts to curb accidents.
The prime minister said that having such a system would go a long way towards addressing the problem and understanding the environment the Boda Bodas are operating in. Mr Pinda insisted that the aim was not to frustrate but to ensure the business operates in an orderly manner, with safety being the priority. Meanwhile, the daladala owners have also increased the amount of money to be remitted per day by their drivers’ by almost 30 per cent.
Most of the commuter drivers and conductors have complained about the increase, as most of them do not work under contracts and are paid on a daily basis instead of monthly basis. “It is obvious that the fare hike has led to the increase of the amount of money we are supposed to give to the bus owners every day, but these owners have not increased our wages which are paid on daily basis,” said one of the drivers who preferred anonymity. Giving an example, he said where they were paying 100,000/-, they are now supposed to pay 110,000/-.
It has also been noted that the contracts which has to be signed between the commuter bus owners and their workers seem to be delayed by some of the owners though the authority has directed the owners to do so. Mr Abuu Iddy, a Daladala driver, plying Buguruni-Kivukoni route explained that although SUMATRA has directed bus owners to have contracts with bus drivers, they are not involved in the signing of the document, however, bus owners tell them that the contracts have been signed and are with SUMATRA.
“We have never seen or signed the contracts, but we are told that the contracts are with SUMATRA, we feel that these are fake contracts since they did not involve the drivers,” queried Mr Iddy. In another development, Tanzania Bus Owners Association (TABOA) has called on all bus owners to adhere to recent ticket rates set by SUMATRA.
Bus owners have also been asked to enter contracts with staff dealing with issuance of tickets, in a bid to end inconveniences caused by touts to passengers. The Association’s Deputy Secretary General, Mr Severine Ngallo, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the announcement results from the meeting held on Saturday in Dar es Salaam and led by TABOA Chairman, Mohammed Hood.
By HILDA MHAGAMA, Tanzania Daily News
