In an effort to further boost the economy in the transportation sector, the Tanzanian government on Thursday finally lifted the ban on bus operations for 24 hours.
In addition to meeting a long-standing demand of certain bus owners and drivers who wanted the operation to last 24 hours like in other nations, the announcement lifts the ban that was put in place back in the 1990s.
The government claims that the new choice was made following improvements in infrastructure, more police patrols for security, and consideration of the opinions of numerous players in the transportation industry.
“With these positive changes, the government has decided to remove the ban on passenger buses traveling at night that was set in the 1990s,” announced Prime Minister Kassimu Majaliwa in Parliament on Thursday.
The Home Affairs ministry was instructed to work with the Works and Transport ministry, particularly the transport sector, in order to carry out the decision, “to establish a procedure to be followed by the owners and drivers of passenger buses who intend to transport passengers at night.”
The Premier was addressing in Dodoma as the 11th session of the 12th parliament came to a close when he noted that cases of bus hijacking including looting and passenger humiliation led to the 1990 prohibition.
Other causes, according to him, included fatal bus collisions, which also caused property damage and road infrastructure damage, as well as some lifelong impairments. He pointed out that the bus hijackings were occurring in places with poor communication networks and road infrastructure.
The government was forced to let transportation operate day and night after steps were done to either greatly lessen or eliminate the infrastructure and security issues that existed at the time.
According to the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra), the proposal will implement vehicle tracking as well as keeping track of the drivers allocated to each bus, with excursions lasting more than eight hours requiring two drivers for each trip, in order to assist manage the rates of accidents.
According to the law, the agency is also permitted to verify drivers by capturing their prints, tracking their speed limits, and, in cases of dangerous driving, banning them.