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25 October 2006
The Federal Transport Authority (FTA) issued a directive last week which requires that cross country public transport vehicles include standardized services.
The requirements, released on October 16, 2006, include a microphone, a tape recorder with speakers, a mobile phone, seat numbers, clean curtains, and a display board to monitor the vehicles destinations.
Also, the driver and assistant will have the same color uniform, including a tie and cap. And for safety precaution, a first aid kit and fire extinguisher are required to be put in a visible place.
The directive also requests a mobile weighing scale to be present in the vehicle for transit passengers who get in from stations on the way. Luggage tags, tickets and receipts are to be printed properly as well.
In addition, information on breaks during the journey (for meals or otherwise) and lodging information for overnight travel will have to be posted in a visible place on the bus and at the departing station. Drivers, the directive says, will only be allowed to take breaks at specified times.
Public response to the directive was slightly incredulous. “I do not see the importance of the uniforms” said Getasew Ashagre, a passenger from Dessie.
Another passenger, Sintayehu Zewde, said that he did not “understand why the Authority came up with this type of directive, especially the idea of putting on a tie and cap in hot weather.”
The professional response was not much better. “The Authority told us that the directive is taken from experiences of Canada, Germany and Malaysia,” said Haile Gebre Wahid, Board Chairman of the Africa Alem Public Transport Bus Owner’s Association. “It will be difficult to implement it considering the sector’s capacity and the road conditions of the country.”
But despite this reticence, transport vehicles owners are more worried about the directives to follow. The Authority let owners know that it is working to make a major change in the sector, and that owners should prepare themselves for it.
According to an official from the Authority, this next directive might create controversy with a requirement that vehicles manufactured within the last seven years go 80Km per hour and have leather seats covers and toilet facilities.
In addition, the upcoming directive will require that drivers have at least five years experience on the job and be within 30 to 45 years of age. Assistants will be required to have auto mechanic knowledge and a fourth grade driving license.
An official at a bus owner association told Fortune that he does not think that the Authority will implement the directive, “as the whole plan looks unwise”.
According to the information obtained from the Authority, there are 16 associations which operate 1,300 cross country buses.
“All this talk is a luxury,” said Emebet Yifru, a Bahr Dar University student who waited to get a bus for three days at the Merkato bus terminal, “all I need is a vehicle which takes me to my destination safely and on time.”
By Issayas Mekuria - Fortune staff writer