THE Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) has alerted long-distance bus operators that it will suspend night services in case the specified regulations will keep being breached.

Habibu Suluo, the LATRA director general, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the Katarama fleet of buses has been placed under scrutiny as the agency believed there was tampering with vehicle tracking systems (VTS).

This is also likely interference with reporting devices (i-button), while operators are likely to have installed unauthorized equipment, he said.

He said inspections were being conducted in the wake of suspected road safety violations recently by several bus companies, including Super Feo, Abood and BM.

Operators were given seven days to address those infractions or face suspension of their operating licenses, meanwhile as the Katarama buses fleet is temporarily out of the road pending resolutions of queries that LATRA raised.

An i-button system is crucial for monitoring driver activity, an essential item in supervising long-distance bus movements, where fleets whose vehicles were involved.

The government is committed to uphold safety standards introduced after a June 2023 parliamentary decision allowed night bus travel, he said, noting that LATRA has since that moment worked with the Tanzania Bus Owners Association (TABOA) as stakeholders to ensure high compliance levels.

Operators were required to sign an agreement to follow specific conditions, including proper VTS installation, driver exchange on trips longer than eight hours and maintaining accurate passenger records, he specified.

Some operators have begun violating these conditions, prompting LATRA’s intervention to protect the public, he said, citing the gravity of the recent spate of accidents, meanwhile as a single case of preventable fatality is unacceptable.

The police force has been tasked to investigate the buses, while the suspension will remain until the inquiry is complete, he said, appealing to passengers to avoid the buses due to safety concerns “until decided otherwise.”

TABOA chairman Abdallah Kiongozi supported LATRA’s stance, stating that the association does not support operators who violate road safety regulations. All operators need to comply with established standards, he emphasized.