Dala dala
Dala dalaare minibusshare taxisinTanzania.[1]These converted trucks and minibuses are the primary public transportation system in the country.[2]While the name originates from the English word "dollar", they are also referred to asthumni.[2]
Before minibuses became widely used, a truck with benches placed in thebedwas the typical Tanzanian privately owned public transport.[3]Calledchai maharagwe,these were popular and also used to transport and deliver goods along the routec.1990.[2]
Whiledala dalamay run fixed routes picking up passengers at central locations,[4]they will also stop anywhere along their route to drop someone off or allow a prospective passenger to board.[1]
In contrast to most of these minibuses, inDar es Salaamsomedala dalaare publicly operated as of 2008.[AICD 1]
History in Dar es Salaam
[edit]
Thedala daladeveloped as illegal taxis inDar es Salaam,the largest city in Tanzania, due to a deteriorating system of government-run public transport in an environment of rising demand for such services.[5]Between 1975 and 1983, the yeardala dalawere legalized, the number of buses operating inDar es Salaamdeclined by 36% while the population increased by around 80%.[5]In 1983, the government transport company was allowed to sub-contract to private entities, but due to high tariffs, this did little to substantially increase the numbers of licenseddala dala.[5]
Further reforms in the late 1990s caused the amount of legal minibuses to swell, and between 1991 and 1998 their numbers rose by 450%.[5]Large amounts of pirate minibuses continued to exist, however, and in 1998 it was estimated that these comprised nearly half of alldala dalain operation.[5]By 1998dala dalahad almost completely superseded government run public transport; in that year a total of 12 government operated buses plied the streets.[5]Around that time there were somewhere between 7,650 and 6,300dala dalain operation.[5]
Conductor
[edit]
Dala dalaare often operated by both a driver and aconductor.[1]Called ampigadebe,the name fordala dalaconductors literally means "a person who hits a debe" (a 4-gallon tin container used for transporting gasoline or water) in reference to the fact that conductors will hit the roof and side of the van to attract customers and notify the driver when to leave a station.[citation needed]
Regulation
[edit]Thesevehicles for hirehave their routes allocated by a Tanzanian transportregulator,Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA),[AICD 2]but syndicates (informal groups that fix fares, collect dues, and manage stations) also exist.[AICD 1]Prior to 1983, all forms of privately owned public transport were illegal in Tanzania,[5]and as of 1991[2]and 1998[5]at least half of alldala dalacontinued to operate without a license.
In 2002 it was noted that thedala dalamarket"seems to remain under conditions close to classicalperfect competition."[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcThoughts On Dala Dala Busesisteptanzania.wordpress.com, May 29, 2009
- ^abcdTripp, Aili Mari(1997)."The Daladala Bus Wars".Changing the Rules: the Politics of Liberalization and the Urban Informal Economy in Tanzania.UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS.RetrievedJune 29,2012.
- ^Travel Guide to Zanzibarzanzibar.org
- ^"How many people can you fit into a dala-dala".How many people can you fit into a dala-dala.Retrieved2011-06-12.
- ^abcdefghijRizzo, Matteo (2002)."Being taken for a ride: privatisation of the Dar es Salaam transport system 1983–1998"(PDF).The Journal of Modern African Studies.40(1): 133–157.doi:10.1017/s0022278x01003846.
- ^abStuck in Traffic; Urban Transport in Africa (page 9)Ajay Kumar & Fanny Barrett. Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic in cooperation with the World Bank, January 2008. Draft Final Report.
- ^Barrentt & Kumar, Page xii