Tanzania: Cash Still King in Public Transport Despite Four-Year Digital Push
[Daily News] Dar es Salaam -- CASH remains overwhelmingly king across Tanzania's public transport sector, with electronic transactions accounting for only 6.8 per cent of fares collected over the past four years, official data show.
In Tanzania, cash remains the primary form of payment for public transport despite a four-year digital payment push, according to official data. The Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) reports that electronic transactions accounted for just 6.8% of fares collected, with 62.18 million passengers recorded through online ticketing systems.
Of these, 95.3% paid their fares in cash, while only 4.7% utilized digital payment channels. In monetary terms, cash payments contributed 1.99 trillion Tanzanian Shillings (tri/-) of the 2.13 trillion tri/- collected, while electronic payments amounted to 144.28 billion tri/-, representing 6.8% of the total. The figures highlight the disparity between the policy drive towards digital payments and their adoption in the transport sector, despite the Electronic Transactions Act (Cap.
442) mandating electronic transactions for several services, including bus rapid transit, long-distance buses, ferries, and ride-hailing platforms. LATRA Director General Habibu Suluo acknowledged the challenges of increasing digital adoption but noted that operators and the government are gradually recognizing the transparency benefits of electronic payment systems.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
