.

1. URBAN MOBILITY, LIVELIHOODS AND
TRANSPORT IN DAR ES SALAAM CITY:
EXPLORING CHILDREN’S
EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS
Hannibal Bwire
Senior Lecturer
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
26-29 August 2014, London

2. Presentation outline
 Background
 Methodology
 Study findings
 Conclusion

3. Background
• Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania and
covers a surface area of about 1,800 km2 .
• Population is about four million people.
• While Tanzania’s urban growth rate is expected to be
4.5% between 2015 and 2020, in Dar es Salaam it is
projected to be higher (UN 2010).

4. Background
• Several studies estimate that more than 70% of the
population live in unplanned settlements to the
extent of occupying hazardous areas (Kombe 2005;
Lupala 2002).
• Other scholars, argue that more than 80% of the
buildings in Dar es Salaam are located in unplanned
areas (Hill and Linder, 2010).
• Urbanisation poses a major stress on the physical
and social environment.

5. Background
• Population pressure erodes the amount of open
space where children can play, intensifies car traffic
and the danger of road crashes and causes air, soil
and water pollution that threaten children’s health.
• Children residing in informal, unplanned settlements
in or near Tanzania’s cities grow up in one of the
most hazardous environments imaginable (UNICEF,
2012).

6. Background
• Transport infrastructure in Dar es Salaam is
predominantly road based.
• However, the inadequacy of road capacity, results in
traffic congestion and in road traffic crashes, damage
to the city’s economy and increasingly negative
environmental impact.
• The public transport in the city is currently provided
by about 5,000 licensed, small capacity and privately
owned minibuses commonly known as ‘Daladala’.

7. Background
• The service offered is generally judged as
unsatisfactory.
• A recent appraisal of Dar es Salaam road crash data
from 2007 and 2008 show that pedestrian fatalities
accounted for 67% of the total road crash fatalities,
and 79% of the fatalities were vulnerable road users
(VRU) (Masaoe, 2010).
• VRU non-fatal injuries constituted 52% of all non-fatal
injuries.

8. Background
• In Dar es Salaam, past travel surveys show that more
than 90% of school trips are made by bus and
walking [bus (48%), walk (48%), and car (3.2%)].
• However, previous studies have paid little attention
to
– how do children travel to/from school, visit friends
and reach an outdoor public facility, after school,
and during the weekend?
– how would they like to travel to/from school?

9. Background
– what difference does age and gender of a child
make?
– how do features of the local neighbourhoods,
road traffic conditions, attitudes of parents and
the society in general, socioeconomic status and
other factors influence the mobility of children in
rural, suburban and urban areas?

10. Methodology
• Questionnaire design
• Pen-and-paper self-completion questionnaires
• Permission was obtained from municipals directors
• Parents were given questionnaires through their
children
• Both questionnaires were collected at schools

11. Findings
• 2009 study (n=1149)
• Investigated how children travel to/from school and
would like to get to and from school (Bwire, 2009).
• Walking school trips is about 35% and about 59% of
trips are made by minibus (Daladala) whereas only
2% of trips are made by bicycles.
• Even at distances less than 2 km, Daladala was most
widely used by school children.

12. Findings
• It was also found that some school children walked
greater distances as far as 5 kms.
• The majority (75%) of school children do prefer to
use the school bus to travel to/from school.
• The level of cycling was higher in older children than
among the younger children but the latter group of
children who were cycling showed interest in
continuing with cycling as opposed to older ones
who preferred to reduce the level of cycling for
school travel.

13. Findings
• 2010 study (ns = 231 and np=53)
• Provided some insights into how children do travel
to/from school, children’s perceptions of public
outdoor environments, and the levels of and factors
influencing children mobility restrictions on public
outdoor movements.
• We (Bwire and Chacha, 2011) found that the
majority (77%) of schoolchildren travel to school and
to other places unaccompanied and (54%) are
allowed to cross main roads alone.

14. Findings
• The major issues which worry children (especially
those aged 10 years and above) are bullying, getting
lost, stranger danger, road safety, and feeling that
they are not old enough to travel on their own.
• 81% of parents were worried about the risk of their
children being involved in road traffic crashes, (60%
very worried and 21% quite worried).
• Traffic danger was most commonly identified as a
reason for child accompaniment by parents to
school.

15. Findings
• Further analysis of data (Bwire, 2011) showed that
79% of girls and 76% of boys travel to school
unaccompanied.
• Permission to cross main roads by walking increases
as children get older, i.e. from 18% for children aged
7-9 years to 63% for children aged 13-16 years.
• 51% of girls and 42% of boys are restricted from
crossing main roads on their own.

16. Findings
• Bicycle ownership amongst children is very low and
14% of children who own bicycles, of which 10% are
boys.
• 71% of bicycle-owning children indicated that they
would be allowed to ride their bicycle to other places
without any grown ups.
• Children aged 7-12 years old were noted to be the
most affected group in terms of issues that worry
them when they are outside on their own or with
friends.

17. Findings
• Findings suggest that the vulnerability of children to
road crashes is a concern in Dar es Salaam.
• Interventions which may help to quell worries and
concerns of the school children and parents when
children are outside on their own or with friends and
encourage walking and cycling include walking school
bus and cycle train.

18. Findings
• 2011 study (n =1511)
• Attitudes towards the use of walking school bus
(WSB) and cycle train (CT) in Dar es Salaam city
(Bwire et al. 2014?).
• Permission to join a ‘walking bus’ was found to be
higher at primary schools over secondary schools
(52% vs. 39%).
• 33% of parents/adults were found to be willing to
volunteer to supervise WSB.

19. Findings
• WSBs in primary schools were established,
parents involvement was low.
• Older children were used as supervisors.
• Survey results showed that 68% of parents were
willing to let their children join a cycle train.
• 16% of parents/ guardians were willing to
volunteer to supervise the cycle train

20. Findings
• Parents were ultimately not recruited as
supervisors even though potential parent
supervisors were identified during the survey.
• Instead, volunteers from Dar es Salaam Cycling
Community Association (UWABA) were used as
cycle train supervisors.
• Conducted cycle train trials, developed cycle train
routes and meeting point train stops.

21. Findings
• They also helped in identifying suitable schools that
met the selection criteria for cycle train
demonstration.
• During implementation of cycle trains, finding
children owning bicycles was a critical and
challenging issue as the majority of children (86%)
did not own a bicycle.

22. Conclusion
• Parents and children were enthusiastic about the
WSB, saying they enjoyed the friendships, sense
of community, exercise and knowing that the
children were getting safely to and from school.
• Cycle trains provide a sense of security; before
launching of CT there was habit of bicycle theft
when children travelled to/from school alone but
the implementation of CT increased the security
of their bicycles since they cycle in group under
supervision.

23. Conclusion
• Older schoolchildren may be used as supervisors.
• Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) such as UWABA can
be used to supervise CT where parents are not available to
supervise the trains.
• The main challenge is make the WSB and CT initiatives
sustainable
– adoption of the initiatives as part of school programmes
– how to make non-Governmental Organization such as
UWABA (DSM cycling community) volunteers and older
school children to continue to supervise cycle trains and
walking buses.

24. Travel to/from school

25. WSB Demonstration in Dar es Salaam

26. CT Demonstration in Dar es Salaam
. .

27. Acknowledgement
• Policy Studies Institute of the Westminster
University, UK
• Volvo Research and Education Foundations
• African Centre of Excellence for Studies in Public and
Non-motorised Transport (ACET)
• Sida/UDSM support

28. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

29. References
• Bwire, Hannibal (2009): School Travel Modes
Preferences in Dar es Salaam. World Transport Policy
& Practice, Volume 15, Number 3, November, 2009,
pp 22 – 34.
• Bwire H and Chacha P (2011): An assessment of
factors affecting the independent mobility of children
in Dar es Salaam, 30th Southern African Transport
Conference: Africa on the Move, Pretoria.
• Bwire, H., Muchaka, P., Behrens, R., and Chacha. P.
(2014?): Walking bus and cycle train demonstration
experiences in Cape Town and Dar es Salaam. NMT
Book Chapter 13 (Under review).

30. References
• Chacha, P. and Bwire H (2013): Analysis of Factors
Affecting School Children Travel Mode Choice in Dar
es Salaam, presented at the 32nd Southern African
Transport Conference, CSIR International Convention
Centre, Pretoria, from 8 to 11 July 2013.
• Hannibal Bwire (2011). Children’s Independent
Mobility and Perceptions of Outdoor Environments
in Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania. Global Studies of
Childhood, Special Issue on Children’s independent
mobility as a critical aspect of children’s health and
quality of life: A global cross-cultural and historical
comparison, ISSN 2043-6106, Volume 1 Number 3,
pages 185-206.

31. References
• Hill, A.; and Lindner, C. (2010): Modelling informal
urban growth under rapid urbanisation - A CA-based
landuse simulation model for the city of Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania. Doctoral thesis, TU Dortmund
University Available at https://eldorado.tu-dortmund.
de/handle/2003/27283 [accessed,
January 2011]
• Kombe, W.J. (2005): Land use dynamics in peri-urban
areas and their implications on the urban growth and
form: the case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Habitat
International, 29, 113–135

32. References
• Lupala, A. (2002): Peri-urban land management for
rapid urbanisation. The case of Dar es Salaam.
SPRING Research Series 32, Dortmund.
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2012. Cities
and Children: The Challenge of Urbanisation in
Tanzania. ISBN 9987-443-20-6
• UN (United Nations) (2010): World Population
Prospects: The 2008 Revision and World
Urbanization Prospects: The 2009 Revision,
http://esa.un.org/wup2009/unup/, Wednesday,
February 09, 2011