Dala dala are minibus

share taxi A share taxi, shared taxi, taxibus, or jitney or dollar van in the US, or marshrutka in former Soviet countries, is a mode of transport which falls between a taxicab and a bus. Share taxis are a form of paratransit. They are vehicles for hire and ...

s in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

.Thoughts On Dala Dala Buses
isteptanzania.wordpress.com, May 29, 2009 These converted trucks and minibuses are the primary public transportation system in the country. While the name originates from the English word "dollar", they are also referred to as ''thumni''. Before minibuses became widely used, a truck with benches placed in the

bed A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

was the typical Tanzanian privately owned public transport. Called ''chai maharagwe'', these were popular and also used to transport and deliver goods along the route 1990. While ''dala dala'' may run fixed routes picking up passengers at central locations, they will also stop anywhere along their route to drop someone off or allow a prospective passenger to board. In contrast to most of these minibuses, in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

some ''dala dala'' are publicly operated as of 2008.

History in Dar es Salaam

The ''dala dala'' developed as illegal taxis in

, the largest city in Tanzania, due to a deteriorating system of government-run public transport in an environment of rising demand for such services. Between 1975 and 1983, the year ''dala dala'' were legalized, the number of buses operating in

declined by 36% while the population increased by around 80%. 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 licensed ''dala dala''. Further reforms in the late 1990s caused the amount of legal minibuses to swell, and between 1991 and 1998 their numbers rose by 450%. Large amounts of pirate minibuses continued to exist, however, and in 1998 it was estimated that these comprised nearly half of all ''dala dala'' in operation. By 1998 ''dala dala'' had almost completely superseded government run public transport; in that year a total of 12 government operated buses plied the streets. Around that time there were somewhere between 7,650 and 6,300 ''dala dala'' in operation.

Conductor

''Dala dala'' are often operated by both a driver and a

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. Called a ''mpigadebe'', the name for ''dala dala'' conductors 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.

Regulation

These

vehicles for hire A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which they ...

have their routes allocated by a Tanzanian transport regulator, Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), but syndicates (informal groups that fix fares, collect dues, and manage stations) also exist. Prior to 1983, all forms of privately owned public transport were illegal in Tanzania, and as of 1991 and 1998 at least half of all ''dala dala'' continued to operate without a license. In 2002 it was noted that the ''dala dala''

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

"seems to remain under conditions close to classical

perfect competition In economics, specifically general equilibrium theory, a perfect market, also known as an atomistic market, is defined by several idealizing conditions, collectively called perfect competition, or atomistic competition. In Economic model, theoret ...

References

{{reflist, group=AICD, refs=Stuck 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 Share taxis Public transport in Tanzania

History in Dar es Salaam

Conductor

Regulation

See also

References