The mass transit system in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, cost $150 million and provides transport connections cutting commutes by 2 hours for 400,000 people.
Dar es Salaam has population 6 million and has grown eightfold since 1980. Four of five people live on the sprawling fringes in informal settlements that take a commute of over 2 hours to city centre. Dar es Salaam has chosen a bus system with dedicated lanes and areas instead of a metro which is costlier to build. The city has only four arterial roads with 2 lanes each way. Most of the growth is on the periphery and unplanned. The Dart System now in place separates the bus lanes from other traffic to reduce stoppages. The average journey from the centre to the terminus at Kimara is now down from 2 hours each way to 45 minutes.saving 50 hours each week for the average bus passenger.
Original article 9 minutes, gist 1 minute