Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Gets Ready to Roll with South American Tour

Posted: 11 Jun 2008

Related to: Dar es Salaam BRT, Developing High-Quality, Low-Cost Mass Transit, Tanzania
Contributed by: Jonas Hagen & Aimee Gauthier, ITDP

They came to see buses that do the job of subways, and that is what they saw. After an arduous flight from Dar Es Salaam to Johannesburg to Sao Paulo and finally to Curitiba, a 10 member team from Tanzania got a first-hand look at a first-class Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The team was on a busy week long tour in South America, from May 15th to 22nd, in preparation for the launching of their own DART BRT in East Africa.


The DART team visits Bogota’s (in this picture) and Curitiba’s system in preparation of opening their own BRT system. Photo: Aimee Gauthier, ITDP

DART (Dar Rapid Transit) is the government authority that will oversee the bus system for the city of 3.5 million residents. The head of delegation was Bakari Kingobi, the City Director, supported by Cosmas Takule, the Chief Executive of DART, Gwandumi Noel Mwangosi of Tanzania National Roads Agency and other key DART staff members. Set to open the tender for the building of the infrastructure of the BRT as well as the operation of the system later this year, this trip’s purpose was to show how successful BRTs are run and drum up interest among investors and firms that could bid on the system.

In Curitiba, the delegation got to observe the world’s first “full” BRT – complete with physically segregated lanes, pre-paid, level boarding and free transfers. Daniel Costa of URBS – the public authority that runs the system - informed the delegation that the system was planned in 1963, with the first corridors implemented in 1974, and continuously upgraded throughout the following decades. “You can tell that the system works because in 1974, you had two thousand taxis in Curitiba. Today, you also have two thousand taxis, even though the city’s population has doubled since then,” said Costa.


The DART team was impressed by how Curitiba closely linked land use to transport planning.  Photo: Jonas Hagen, ITDP

Following meetings with operators, bus manufacturers and companies that specialize in electronic ticketing, the delegation boarded the iconic transparent tube stations of the BRT. The delegation was whisked from the outskirts of town to the city’s pedestrian center, where they saw people shopping and sipping coffees on sidewalk cafés.

In Bogotá, the delegation experienced TransMilenio, riding to Portal de las Americas where they were able to see the physical integration of the feeder bus system into the trunk lines, as well as an example of the over 2,000 bike parking spaces that are also physically integrated into the terminal.  TransMilenio held a workshop explaining the importance of planning and control and the delegation was able to see the control center in action when a station was closed due to nearby protests.


Riding on the red buses in Bogota, the DART team experienced TransMilenio and asked questions to better understand operations. Photo: Aimee Gauthier, ITDP

The DART team presented their system to a meeting of over 60 people, inviting questions and discussion afterwards.  With one-on-one meetings with private sector BRT service providers and visiting their offices, depots, and factories, the Dart delegation got the opportunity to learn more about what the potential investor’s concerns were, as well as get some input into their existing system design. 


In Bogota, Cosmas Takule gave a presentation of the DART system tp private sector interests, with the team answering questions afterwards.Photo: Carlos Pardo, GTZ

As Cosmas Takule said, “the trip was an eye opener to most of the delegation members for they saw for themselves how BRT systems practically work on the ground and that cleared most of the grey areas and doubts about the efficacy of the system.  Also, meeting with the BRT players gave the DART Agency confidence that they are actually interested to join hands in the operations of the system.”


The team reviews TransMilenio’s system map to better understand how the role of information and communication for the passenger experience.  Photo: Aimee Gauthier, ITDP