Dala dala are minibusshare taxis inTanzania.[1] These converted trucks and minibuses are the primary public transportation system in the country.[2] While the name originates from the English word "dollar", they are also referred to asthumni.[2]
Before minibuses became widely used, a truck with benches placed in thebed was the typical Tanzanian privately owned public transport.[3] Calledchai maharagwe, these were popular and also used to transport and deliver goods along the route,c. 1990.[2]
Whiledala dala may run fixed routes picking up passengers at central locations,[4] they will also stop anywhere along their route to drop someone off or allow a prospective passenger to board.[1]
In contrast to most of these minibuses, inDar es Salaam somedala dala are publicly operated as of 2008.[AICD 1]
Thedala dala developed as an illegal taxi inDar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, due to a deteriorating system of government-run public transport in an environment of rising demand for such services.[5] Between 1975 and 1983, the yeardala dala were legalized, the number of buses operating inDar es Salaam declined by 36% while the population increased by around 80%.[5] In 1983, the government transport company was allowed to subcontract to private entities, but due to high tariffs, this did little to substantially increase the number of licenseddala dala.[5]
Further reforms in the late 1990s caused the number of legal minibuses to swell, and between 1991 and 1998 their numbers rose by 450%.[5] Large amounts of pirate minibuses continued to exist, however, and in 1998 it was estimated that these comprised nearly half of alldala dala in operation.[5] By 1998dala dala had almost completely superseded government-run public transport; in that year, a total of 12 government-operated buses plied the streets.[5] Around that time there were somewhere between 7,650 and 6,300dala dala in operation.[5]
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Dala dala are often operated by both a driver and aconductor.[1] Called ampigadebe, the name fordala dala conductors literally means "a person who hits a debe" (a 4-gallon tin container used for transporting gasoline or water) in reference to the fact that conductors will hit the roof and side of the van to attract customers and notify the driver when to leave a station.[citation needed]
Thesevehicles for hire have their routes allocated by a Tanzanian transportregulator,Land Transport Regulatory Authority of Tanzania (LATRA),[AICD 2] but syndicates (informal groups that fix fares, collect dues, and manage stations) also exist.[AICD 1] Before 1983, all forms of privately owned public transport were illegal in Tanzania,[5] and as of 1991[2] and 1998[5] at least half of alldala dala continued to operate without a license.
In 2002 it was noted that thedala dalamarket "seems to remain under conditions close to classicalperfect competition."[5]