By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
To address the concerns of some commuters who would like to travel shorter distances, the Company Secretary for the Metro Transport Company managing the Waka Fine Buses has said fifty mini-buses or “poda- podas” would be incorporated into into the Waka Fine buses’ routes and supervised by the company.
Thomas Barnet was speaking to Politico on 14th February this year, confirming that they have acknowledged the concerns of the passengers who desire to pay five Leones as fare for shorter distances as against the ten Leones using the new Waka Fine buses that travel on longer distances.
He said the twenty-five poda -podas would be provided for the east corridor and the same number for the west corridor, noting that private individuals own the said poda- podas but Metro would supervise them.
“The poda -podas will have the same colours as the Waka Fine buses,” Barnet said, adding that they would use the same Waka Fine tickets but a reduced fare because of shorter distances.
He would not confirm when the “poda podas” would be available but said they have started working with the Drivers’ Union to register the fifty- podas which they believe would address the concerns of the halfway passengers.
Speaking about the concern by some passengers over the ten Leones fare per trip for the Waka Fine buses, he said only twenty-two percent of them have expressed discontentment about it, but that seventy-eight percent of the commuters are okay with the transport fare, according to a data that he said they got from a survey conducted.
“It is the Sierra Leone Public Transport Authority (SLPTA) that has the mandate to set price tags for transportation, not the Metro Company,” he went on, emphasizing that the price for the transport was set by SLPTA.
The Company Secretary maintained that about fifty-two thousand passengers from both the east and the west corridor use the Waka Fine buses a day, of which he noted the majority of that number are from the west. Barnet went on to say more buses would be provided to meet the growing demand of the passengers.
“Initially, eighteen buses were projected for the west corridor and thirty-two for the east corridor because we thought the east corridor had more passengers, but we have realised that there are more passengers from the west than the east corridor,” he reiterated.
Speaking more about the buses to Politico, he said there is a thirteen-man maintenance team for the fifty buses.
Politico spoke to some of the passengers about their experience of the “Waka Fine” buses.
Mohamed Jusu, a passenger from the West said some commuters have raised concerns about the fare. “I have been hearing cries from passengers for the government to cut down the ticket cost to meet the demand of the poor people,” Jusu stated but admitted that the buses are comfortable. He went on to say there is a little delay in queues at the main bus station while waiting for buses, but that there is no delay in buying the tickets.
As a way to ameliorate the challenges of the passengers, he asked for public toilets to be made available in all the bus terminals, and for coffee shops and other items like newspapers at those bus terminals.
Tenneh Sheriff, a commuter from Calaba Town said the new “Waka Fine Buses are better in terms of the transportation cost,” noting that they (the passengers from Calaba Town axis) suffered a lot in waiting in long queues to board “poda podas.” As a result, Sheriff stated they had to take “half-half way’’ means of transportation which she added did cost them over twenty Leones just for a trip.
“This Waka Fine Buses are better because we don’t struggle much. Even though some of our fellow passengers are grumbling about the cost of the buses, they should bear in mind that paying halfway transport fare in those poda podas and other commercial transport can be two times higher than what we pay for the Waka Fine Buses,” she maintained.
Sheriff noted that there is a little delay in queues at the main bus stations, which she said is a result of the heavy traffic.
She mentioned that the new buses are safe and secure, noting that there is no fear of theft cases. “The security is okay because when we are in queues at the bus stations there will be no fear of thieves,” she emphasized, adding that there is “no jostling” in boarding the buses.
For Isatu Kamara, a passenger in the East, the buses are “nice” and she has not encountered any constraints in accessing them, though she noted that the buses should be coming in quick succession.
I have been saving much of my transport fare expense per day, a student at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), Daniel Bob told Politico. He went on to say that as students, they have been suffering for transport in the past, but that the new buses have helped “greatly.”
The student said the buses should be accessible at different locations, noting that the buses don’t halt even at some bus stops. The university student said the buses are not enough to match demand.
“Especially for us at the Lumley end, the queues at the bus stations are long because of the population”, Bob stated.
He also suggested the availability of public toilets at the main bus terminals and other amenities.
Ibrahim Bundu, a government worker used to spend much on transport to and from work but says with the new buses he now saves over twenty New Leones. “I used to pay over forty New Leones a day on transportation,” the government official stated.
He went on to say the government needs to provide more buses so that those in the western rural areas can also benefit from the “Waka Fine” bus service.
The new buses managed by Metro Company began running in early February. They are part of the Integrated Resilient Urban Mobility Project mostly funded by the World Bank to ease commuting in the Western Area.
World Bank provided 50 Million Dollars while the Government of Sierra Leone provided a counterpart fund of 2 million dollars towards the project.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (16/02/24)
