waltham
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 23, 2014
- 2,522
- 1,045
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016
FLY ON THE WALL : BRT: This is how we run things (down)
Kasera Nick Oyoo is a research and communications consultant with Midas Touché East Africa
In Summary
There was palpable optimism in April when President John Magufuli waded into Bus Rapid Transit row and pushed the actors to make Dar es Salaam the first city to introduce scheduled BRT services for its residents in post-independence East Africa.
Five months into the project, there is every reason to believe that the optimism was misplaced as the interwoven ecology has been reset to default settings. That we are back to default settings is evident in increasing crowds of milling commuters at BRT terminuses at Morocco, Kimara Mwisho, Gerezani and Kivukoni.
The much-loved buses have not been showing up as scheduled and the average time has gone from 10 to 15 all the way to 45 minutes to an hour of waiting.
One need not be a transport logistics expert to recognise that the statement a fortnight ago by management that BRT was running at a loss was interpreted to mean they were not making a profit. That statement raised a red flag considering that with over 130 buses, the project team did tell the world that they were making Sh86 million a day. A business making $40,000 a day, and that is no chicken feed, is running a loss-making operation at $1.2 million a month. You have got to be kidding, no matter what the operation costs are.
There has been a clear lack of adherence to a well-known interval of bus interludes. The staff seem to have given up on delivery of any semblance of acceptable service standards, none more than driver Kapinga, who during the first days was enthusiastic in making the journey from Kivukoni to any destination a memorable experience.
There has been a go-slow that was made all the more serious when some staff were sacked and staged a sit-in at the Jangwani headquarters of BRT. These days the drivers do not introduce themselves and when they get to speak on the communication channel and it is common to hear them chide commuters for one reason or the other. They are back to the daladala mode where they were recruited from. Their driving, braking and respect for designated stops leave a lot to be desired as they seem to be working while worrying about salaries, allowances, contracts and so many other issues, which makes being their passenger a small nightmare of sorts.
One Saturday a few weeks ago when things threatened to get out of hand, it was established that the fuel supplier too was on a go-slow and had not delivered hence the buses could not leave the yard.
For their part, commuters have not been helpful either in achieving the needs of a bus service that handles its customers with dignity. They have refused to drop the daladala mentality of the scramble of the fittest. In this stampede there is usually no room for the sick (even when it looks obvious), elderly, children, mothers with children or those who are pregnant. They do not even give a hoot about the designated seats for those with special needs. I hear you say we are East Africa’s most wastaarabu (a nation which cherishes socially acceptable values). They have more important things to do like browse or stare right ahead as the sick and elderly sway and curse in the fast moving buses. So much for the nation of wastaarabu.
The signs confirm that civility and orderliness is never our strong point. If we believed we were wastaarabu then BRT has disabused us of that belief. BRT has exposed our hypocrisy. It has exposed our make-believe world of business in the sense that many of our businesses are structured to make instant profit.
It would be shocking if the BRT management expected to break even let alone make profit in the first six months. If that was the case they should try money laundering. BRT is a viable business but is a business for the long term. At $1.2 million a month, they need to look afresh at their internal dynamics including staffing and other operational costs.
HAYA MWENDO KAZI HUENDA AWE MWENDO WA KOBE............
FLY ON THE WALL : BRT: This is how we run things (down)
Kasera Nick Oyoo is a research and communications consultant with Midas Touché East Africa
In Summary
- Five months into the project, there is every reason to believe that the optimism was misplaced as the interwoven ecology has been reset to default settings. That we are back to default settings is evident in increasing crowds of milling commuters at BRT terminuses at Morocco, Kimara Mwisho, Gerezani and Kivukoni.
- The much-loved buses have not been showing up as scheduled and the average time has gone from 10 to 15 all the way to 45 minutes to an hour of waiting.
There was palpable optimism in April when President John Magufuli waded into Bus Rapid Transit row and pushed the actors to make Dar es Salaam the first city to introduce scheduled BRT services for its residents in post-independence East Africa.
Five months into the project, there is every reason to believe that the optimism was misplaced as the interwoven ecology has been reset to default settings. That we are back to default settings is evident in increasing crowds of milling commuters at BRT terminuses at Morocco, Kimara Mwisho, Gerezani and Kivukoni.
The much-loved buses have not been showing up as scheduled and the average time has gone from 10 to 15 all the way to 45 minutes to an hour of waiting.
One need not be a transport logistics expert to recognise that the statement a fortnight ago by management that BRT was running at a loss was interpreted to mean they were not making a profit. That statement raised a red flag considering that with over 130 buses, the project team did tell the world that they were making Sh86 million a day. A business making $40,000 a day, and that is no chicken feed, is running a loss-making operation at $1.2 million a month. You have got to be kidding, no matter what the operation costs are.
There has been a clear lack of adherence to a well-known interval of bus interludes. The staff seem to have given up on delivery of any semblance of acceptable service standards, none more than driver Kapinga, who during the first days was enthusiastic in making the journey from Kivukoni to any destination a memorable experience.
There has been a go-slow that was made all the more serious when some staff were sacked and staged a sit-in at the Jangwani headquarters of BRT. These days the drivers do not introduce themselves and when they get to speak on the communication channel and it is common to hear them chide commuters for one reason or the other. They are back to the daladala mode where they were recruited from. Their driving, braking and respect for designated stops leave a lot to be desired as they seem to be working while worrying about salaries, allowances, contracts and so many other issues, which makes being their passenger a small nightmare of sorts.
One Saturday a few weeks ago when things threatened to get out of hand, it was established that the fuel supplier too was on a go-slow and had not delivered hence the buses could not leave the yard.
For their part, commuters have not been helpful either in achieving the needs of a bus service that handles its customers with dignity. They have refused to drop the daladala mentality of the scramble of the fittest. In this stampede there is usually no room for the sick (even when it looks obvious), elderly, children, mothers with children or those who are pregnant. They do not even give a hoot about the designated seats for those with special needs. I hear you say we are East Africa’s most wastaarabu (a nation which cherishes socially acceptable values). They have more important things to do like browse or stare right ahead as the sick and elderly sway and curse in the fast moving buses. So much for the nation of wastaarabu.
The signs confirm that civility and orderliness is never our strong point. If we believed we were wastaarabu then BRT has disabused us of that belief. BRT has exposed our hypocrisy. It has exposed our make-believe world of business in the sense that many of our businesses are structured to make instant profit.
It would be shocking if the BRT management expected to break even let alone make profit in the first six months. If that was the case they should try money laundering. BRT is a viable business but is a business for the long term. At $1.2 million a month, they need to look afresh at their internal dynamics including staffing and other operational costs.
HAYA MWENDO KAZI HUENDA AWE MWENDO WA KOBE............
