DART: The kickoff meeting for the provision of project management consultancy services to supervise deployment and integration of ITS and AFCS

[Roving Journalist]

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA



PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT


DAR RAPID TRANSIT AGENCY

TALKING NOTES ON INSTITUTIONAL KICKOFF MEETING FOR PROVISION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO SUPERVISE DEPLOYMENT AND INTEGRATION OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (ITS) AND AUTOMATED FARE COLLECTION SYSTEM (AFCS) FOR DART SYSTEM
26th OCTOBER 2023
HAYYAT REGENCY HOTELS, DAR ES SALAAM
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1.0. DAR ES SALAAM RAPID TRANSIT (DART) AGENCY​

DART Agency is an Executive Agency under the President’s Office of Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG), which was established in accordance with the Executive Agencies Act Cap. 247. It came into operation on 25 May 2007, through Government Notice No. 120, charged with the responsibility to effectively plan, coordinate and facilitate the provision of urban transport facilities and services and to ensure improved traffic management in Dar es Salaam City.

The Dar Rapid Transit Agency is established to perform the following functions: -

To establish and operate Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Dar es Salaam;

To ensure the orderly flow and smooth mobility of urban streets and roads;

To ensure effective DART Agency Management.

1.1 Objective of DART​

• The DART was implemented in Dar es Salaam to provide enhanced transport facilities that are reliable and cost-effective, with a view to improving urban mobility, connectivity and accessibility to commuters and businesses and hence supporting the economic and social development of the city and the Country at large. It is expected to reduce congestion and improve air quality along the DART System project corridor.

1.2 Beneficiaries of the DART Project​

• The project is expected to benefit an estimated population of at least 1.2 million representing some 25% of the Dar es Salaam population. Other beneficiaries include users of major cities connecting arterial roads including Mandela and Nyerere Roads. The community with special needs like women, schoolchildren, the handicapped and the elderly are among the beneficiaries of the BRT system.

1.3 The Vision​

• To become a regional leading urban mass transit agency providing affordable, reliable and modern mobility for sustainable development.

1.4 The Mission​

To provide quality urban mass transit services through establishing, operating and effectively managing urban mass transit systems for national and regional sustainable development.

1.5 The Core Values​

DART is guided by the following core values, namely integrity, safety and reliability, sustainability, customer-focused and people-centred services, teamwork spirit, and Innovativeness.

2.0. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DART PROJECT​

The implementation of the DART project started in 2007 and is scheduled to be implemented in six (6) construction phases. Phase I is in operation, phase II is in construction and expected to be completed in October 2023 and operations are in early 2024 while phase III and IV contractors are at sites. Phase V is at review while phase VI is at the design phase.

3.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (ITS)​

For DART to accomplish its mandated roles, vision, mission and objectives effectively and efficiently, it has to deploy strategically ICT systems and infrastructures which are supportive of its business processes to enhance the management and provision of the transit services to Dar es Salaam residents.

The Agency's mission-critical systems are integrated with key concessionary BRT players:-

Fare Collector;

Bus Operators; and

Fund Manager.

The enrollment of ITS and associated ICT Infrastructure is needed to ensure effective implementation and management of urban mobility in mass transit systems like the DART System, and other modes in Dar Es Salaam and Tanzania at Large. The Hard Infrastructures like roads, railways, buildings, bridges, vehicles, and vessels are already equipped with ICT and power resilience infrastructures. Particularly we need to have: -

3.1. Working Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)​

DART System needs an effective, reliable and cost-sustainable ITS system for the bus Rapid transit operations particularly the management of per kilometre model, safety, security and curb proper usage of BRT infrastructures.

3.2. ICT Infrastructures​

DART System needs reliable, reliable and effective ICT infrastructure to ensure business continuity in all DART Systems. The ICT infrastructure will allow the deployment and effective management of mission-critical systems like Automated Fare Collection Systems (AFCS), Intelligence Transportation System (ITS), and Traffic Management Centre (TMC). The reliable, resilient and sustainable ICT Infrastructure enhances data and information flow in the DART System between components to allow effective BRT operations 24/7.

3.3 Energy access and power generation​

DART System needs reliable clean power from different sources and mixes like inverters, solar and backups to minimize the risk of a power outage. This will ensure business continuity reduce operational costs and conserve the environment. The power shortage has devastating economic consequences for BRT Services since they are increasingly dependent upon electricity whose operations rely on electricity 24/7.

3.4 Capacity Building​

There is a need to build capacity for effective management of urban mass transit systems using ITS and related technologies, particularly like management of distance travelled. Capacity Building needs on ITS, AFCS, and Traffic Management as well as skills and knowledge transfer in urban mass transit systems are necessary for optimal operations.

4 .0 KEY STAKEHOLDERS

For the efficiency and effective implementation of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that adheres to interoperability and open architecture the following are among the key stakeholders to be involved in this project;-

TANROADS

TARURA

eGA

TCRA

LATRA

UDART

TEMESA

Ministry of Works

Ministry of Transport

Dar es Salaam Police Special Zone

PORALG

Regional Administrative Secretary

World Bank etc


5.0 KEY DELIVERABLES

We are lagging. I expect you to use a mix of waterfall and Agile approaches to delivery accurately and timely to rescue our ongoing and sooner-to-come BRT operations.
The key deliverables include: -

• Detailed Work Plan and Secondment Program
• ITS System Requirements, ITS software and hardware specifications Documents;
• ITS Design Documents and Concept of Operations Documents;
• Tender Document for ITS Contractor i.e ITS System Integrator (SI);
• Physical and logical Network and power Design Documents and;
• Traffic Management Design Document for the entire Dar es Salaam.

6 .0 CONCLUDING REMARKS

I thank all of you for participating in this kickoff meeting and count on each of you as key stakeholders to ensure we deploy sustainable ITS solutions which have integrated, have an open architecture and are interoperable while avoiding duplication of efforts and building internal capacity, ensuring skills and knowledge transfer on ITS, AFCS and Traffic Management to make Dar es Salaam a Smart City and role model to other urban places in Tanzania.