Transportation

Moshi, Tanzania

One of the biggest problems that I can see in Tanzania is related to the lack of infrastructure. Electricity is not even sufficient to serve the people in the cities who can afford it, water systems are unreliable, and tap water is generally not safe to drink. So, as you would expect, public transportation isn't exactly at North American standards.

Rather than buses or streetcars Tanzania has Dala Dalas, which are Toyota vans from about the late 90s that I don't think anyone in North America or Europe would be caught dead driving. They are all gutted down to the metal frame and refitted with unique Tanzanian seats and metal handles. Dala dalas are then decorated with spray paint, stickers, fake snakeskin seat covers, etc. Anything goes.

Most Torontonians have experienced, at some point in their life, being on the streetcar or subway when it is completely full and you can barely move. Maybe it wasn't the most comfortable thing, but I can tell you that Tanzanians have created a whole new definition for full. The seats themselves are set up to hold the maximum number of people possible. The back seat is regular sized and holds three or four people unless someone is sitting on someone else's lap. The second seat from the back has a backless extension so it goes all the way to the wall, but people can step over it to get to the back seat. The next seat is normal to make room for people standing beside the door, and the van is equipped with bolted in handles for this purpose. Jammed in behind the two front seats is an extra bench that sits opposite to the second seat. These two seats are so close together that if they are both full, passengers have to weave their legs like a puzzle (with the person across from you's knee in your crotch and vice versa) in order to fit them in. The remaining area is used for standing room and you basically hang on to the handles bolted to the ceiling or lean on the person next to you because getting a solid footing is near impossible. Including two in the front seat and the fare collector who kind of hangs halfway out the window, this adds up to a maximum of about 27 or so passengers in one van. One trip home I spent literally on an angle in a balance halfway between leaning on my neighbour and hanging on to the handle bar for dear life. Luckily it was a short trip.

Similar to the buses, dala dalas rarely take off with everyone on board. The standard seems to be that the door is left open and the driver takes off slowly so those working on the dala dala/bus can run and jump on.

Despite all of this it is pretty hard to complain. One dala dala ride costs 300 Tsh which is equivalent to about 20 cents Canadian. You get what you pay for I guess.