By Ibrahim Mansaray, reporter
Sierra Leoneans have been introduced to a newer transport system with the Waka Fine buses now in full operation. Most of the existing transport alternatives including buses, vans, and tricycles have been pushed over to other routes away from the corridors that have been reserved for the new buses. Citizens who have had the opportunity to use the new facility have had good reviews to make about their experience from where they took off to where they alighted. Hamza Koroma, a writer, and a social media influencer, after recounting his experience in one of the new buses, ended with a “thumbs up to the government”. The Chief Minister also wrote on social media that 60,000 tickets have been bought by Freetonians already, highlighting the immediate impact of the buses in terms of the number of people that have used the facility in barely a week since they commenced operations.
While no one is questioning the comfort the new system brings in a time when it was urgently needed, questions and concerns still exist regarding the pricing and the change in routes for other commercial vehicles. Public services in most cases should be cost effective. Ironically, the new buses charge twice the zonal fares. This puts into question the government’s assertion that this system is here to help. In a city like Freetown where most of the public vehicles plying the routes need some serious maintenance or should be removed from the road, no doubt many people will gladly run to a safer and more convenient option like the buses. But with the economic hardship, the price might scare the people away. Well, where do they go? Last week we said that with the price of the new buses, commercial motorists may be tempted to charge the same. It didn’t take long for that to happen. Commercial motorists in Lumley for example, have doubled their prices, following the footsteps of the Waka fine buses and complaining about the routes they have been left to ply.
Before the introduction of the new buses, Sierra Leoneans were getting used to the Le 5 zonal fare which can increase or decrease depending on pump prices. And in most cases, either an increase or a decrease has never been by 100%. Announcements regarding this have always come from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation as regulators of the sector. This time things happened a little differently. The government charged a higher fee for their service and the commercial motorists capitalised on that. The citizens are now left to bear the cost. It is almost impossible to overturn the new prices, especially when they are in line with what the government is charging. The government will hardly be able to say anything to that effect because the same will be said to the government. This now looks like no way back, requiring every citizen to find a way to deal with it. The resilience is yet again being invoked as public service comes in a capitalist style.
Most government officials will tell you that the drive is to improve urban mobility and have systems that look like what advanced cities have. But this appears to be in contrast to what they have. In London and Reading in the UK for instance, the bus network operates as a not-for-profit by the local government, keeping the fares relatively low and services of good quality. Luxembourg has a free public transport system. This is far from achievable in Sierra Leone, given the economic challenges and everything else the country is dealing with. However, citizens firmly believe services provided by the government should be affordable. In this case, not only is the service financially burdensome, but it also created a platform for commercial motorists to model the decisions of the government. What has created more challenges is the decision to keep most if not all of the other means of transport systems away from the Public Transport Corridor. This undoubtedly eliminates traffic for the Waka Fine buses, making room for the fast ride but creates traffic elsewhere and results in people having to wait for vehicles for longer than normal. Tenneh Kargbo, a student of Fourah Bay College, says commuting to class has been difficult for her with the new decision restricting the routes most commercial vehicles are to ply. Abdulai Fofanah, a colleague of Tenneh says he got tired of standing to wait for a vehicle that will take him to class. Both students assembled with other passengers at Lumley from where some of the waka fine buses carry passengers through Wilkinson Road, one of the Public Transport Corridors. Even though it is said that every 15 minutes a bus should be available to take passengers from one point to the other, the buses will still not adequately cover the population of passengers using the corridors.
The buses were supposed to be 50 but only 42 are in operation presently. The Director of Transport Infrastructure and Development Unit at the Ministry of Transport and Aviation Hindolo Shiaka says seven buses had damaged windscreens and mirrors and were parked for maintenance, and one required to be replaced by the manufacturer. He however assures that the bus which is on its way from India has the spare parts of the other seven.
Notwithstanding this development, the buses still fall short of meeting what citizens demand for effective movement. Premising on this, most people argue that all other forms of transportation should have been allowed to run side by side with the buses in the main streets to allow more options and give the citizens a chance to choose what’s comfortable or what they can comfortably afford. The Secretary of the Metro Company that runs the buses acknowledges that the buses are insufficient, arguing that displeased drivers can come together and buy more buses which will be approved by the Sierra Leone Public Transport Authority if they meet the fitness requirement.
For now, the challenges exist and everything that has to be done should be done as soon as possible. Government officials have been making attempts to console citizens for challenges that the system brings, promising that things will be fine as they adapt. However, the reality of a doubled transportation cost and the challenges that exist with boarding a vehicle will have the better of them. The euphoria that came with having new buses and an improved transport system will be overshadowed by the economic reality. Parents will now be required to add their kid’s transportation allowance and employees may be having the thought of asking for an increase in their salaries to match the new fee which adds to the economic challenges. The latter looks less likely to happen, which means people will have to be wiser now, as most people’s funds will now be diverted to transportation.
Certainly, there is a need to think about how developments are introduced in Sierra Leone. The buses are the latest to spark an outcry but it’s not an isolated case. They are emblematic of recent government development projects which look good only superficially. There are still calls for the Summa/Freetown International Airport agreement to be revisited for a second time, with citizens saying they prefer using facilities in neighbouring Guinea to save some cash. With the Waka Fine buses, such opportunities do not exist, which reinforces the need for the government to consider an economically challenged population when they go into agreements or when they plan and implement certain projects. At a glance, it looks like people adapt regardless of how much they have to deal with. However, these are the things that lead to the higher hunger index as reported by development partners and international data collectors.
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