AfricaPress-Tanzania: AS the government continues to intensify efforts against the spread of coronavirus in the country, the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) on Thursday directed upcountry and commuter operators to ensure that the buses carry passengers according to their seating capacity.
It has also directed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to make sure the number of passengers boarding the buses observes terms and conditions stipulated in its licence.
The development came hardly a day after the Minister for Works, Transport and Communications Engineer Isack Kamwelwe gave three days to LATRA and Tanzania Shipping Agency (TASAC) to hold talks with stakeholders in the sector on how to limit the spread of the diseases in public transport.
The government has identified the public transport sector as one of the conduits in which the virus could spread, given the number of people using it on a daily basis.
LATRA Director General Mr Gilliard Ngewe said yester- day in Dar es Salaam that the directives on the number of passengers in public transport resulted from a meeting held in the city between the regulatory body and transport stakeholders.
Mr Ngewe added that Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and bus owners have been instructed to fumigate their trains and buses respectively prior to their journey as measures to prevent the viral disease.
All passengers entering or leaving bus terminals and railway stations are required to wash their hands using the washing tools set up at the stations, he said, adding that each bus should have hand sanitizer to be used by passengers before boarding.
A joint committee formed in collaboration with other stakeholders will continue to oversee the implementation of the directives and conduct regular inspections to ensure timely execution, the LATRA DG noted.
Meanwhile, Dar Rapid Transit (DART) Agency yesterday started instituting measures to control congestion in buses including limiting the number of passengers.
Other measures included, introducing queues of passengers boarding the buses as well as increasing the number of buses operating on trunk routes by relocating those plying on feeder routes especially Kimara and Mbezi.
It has also set up hand -washing facilities at the major bus stations to allow passengers to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before getting onto buses.
DART Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eng Ronald Lwakatare told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that all measures taken by the agency aimed at ensuring that commuters were protected from further spread of the viral disease.
He explained that rapid buses are designed to accommodate more passengers who are standing than those who sit. Eng Lwakatare added that their licence allows a bus with a capacity of 140 passengers to carry 40 seated and 100 standing passengers , but he said, following the outbreak of the disease the agency has decided to reduce the number of people standing in the bus to at least 80 or less.
“We have added ten buses on trunk routes… these buses were plying on feeder routes between Kimara and Mbezi the aim is to boost transport services on major routes,” he said.
He further said that passengers were also required to wash their hands before boarding the buses at the hand -washing facilities set up at the major bus stations such as Kimara, Kivukoni, Morocco, Gerezani and Ubungo.
The CEO noted that the agency was also looking into possibilities of setting up hand- washing facilities in other bus stops.
Eng Lwakatare, however, noted that the number of passengers at the bus stations has dropped in the past two days attributing the situation to the closure of schools and other education institutions as directed by the government.
“When the schools are closed, one may think of students not going to school but there are people like parents, teachers and other staff who have also been affected with the ban”, he said.
