The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Kimani Kim
30 October 2008
The Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) has requested the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) to accept its proposal to raise passenger fares by 50 per cent.
It said the increase is sought for all classes of coaches. If effected, fares for third class passengers will rise by between Sh2,800 and Sh10,000.
The proposed third class fare from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro (202km), currently at Sh5,500, will be Sh8, 300, for the journey that costs Sh6, 100 by bus.
The proposed fares to Dodoma are Sh12,600, up from Sh8,400 for the 465km journey while Dar to Tabora (850km) would cost Sh19,100 from the current Sh12,700.
Other new fares from Dar are Shinyanga Sh22,400, Mwanza Sh25,400 and Kigoma Sh25,700.
Submitting the proposal to Sumatra at a public hearing in Dar es Salaam on behalf of the management, the TRL principal commercial manager, Mr Hassan Shaban, said the increase in fuel prices was the reason for the fares to rise.
He said fuel prices had risen from Sh955 per litre in January 2006 to Sh1,834 per litre in September 2008. As a result many firms adjusted their operations to cover the increased costs.
Mr Shaban said TRL that used to spend Sh910 million every month for fuel was now forced to pay Sh1.9 billion for the same quantity of fuel every month.
He said TRL also pays a fuel levy amounting to Sh217 million each month. The manager further said that the new workers' wage bill had been an additional burden of Sh806 million every month.
Other operational costs included Sh90 million every month to lease 23 third class sleeper coaches while the company was also refurbishing 30 other coaches, engines and wagons.
The TRL managing director, Mr Marasimhaswami Joyaram, said the company was operating at a loss and could not sustain operations on its own.
"The passengers only contribute ten per cent of the total 51 per cent costs," he said. The balance is chipped in by Government subsidy.
But the secretary general of a welfare organisation for travelers (CHAKUA), Mr Robert Rafael, opposed the new fare proposals arguing that TRL had not disclosed its income for the two years that it has been in operation.
"Let the company first tell the 35 million Tanzanians about its investment, income and expenditure," said Mr Rafael.
He added that the condition of the infrastructure, including coaches, was very bad. He said it was wrong for TRL to compare its fares with those of ordinary buses as they do not relate.
Mr Lawrence Simo, a regular train passenger to Mwanza, argued that services should be up to standard before considering any fare increases.
The Sumatra executive director, Mr Israel Sekirasa, said as a regulatory body they would hear all views before setting a tariff that will be fair to both parties.
The agency will next month hold hearings in other towns.
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