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Taxi-cab now operate as town busesBy Arusha Times Reporter Tired of waiting for customers who sometimes may never show up, some taxi-cab drivers in town have been subjected to convert their cars into town buses stints. The drivers have recently started to drive along the main roads within the municipality, picking up stranded passengers who may also have gotten tired of waiting for their respective town buses. The taxi-cab drivers normally squeeze in five passengers in their cars, charging each of them Tsh.200 which happens to be the new, though unofficial, fare charge per person even for the town buses. The normal taxi cab fare per person is between Tsh 1000 and Tsh 3000 for the town routes, depending with respective destination. Passengers who travel in this style however, don’t expect to be dropped off at their door steps as taxi-cabs usually do but are normally left at the usual bus stops of their destination. For years, local commuters have been subjected to long delays while waiting for their respective routes town buses which in most cases will be queueing at the bus terminal. This apparently, was a directive from the top officials of the Arusha and Kilimanjaro Bus Operators Association (AKIBOA), that each town bus must be in a queue before picking up passengers. As a result, it usually takes up to 20 minutes before any bus leaves the terminal, therefore forcing passengers to wait for such a period and those waiting for the services along the roadside bus stops usually find the buses already full, thus they either board the vehicles and endure standing throughout the trip or continue waiting indefinitely. So far there are over 800 town buses operating in Arusha town but despite the number, public transport has always been difficult in the municipality. Also, the staggering number of town buses only serve the two main road routes of Majengo to Njiro along Sokoine road, which also cover the Kijenge section, plus the Ngaramtoni to Usa River route section covering Sakina, Sanawari, Ngulelo and Tengeru en-route. Other roads like the main Makongoro, Simeon road and all remaining town streets have no public transport services.
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