Tanzania’s Abood Bus enters Mombasa. Kidia One now extends journey from Dar to Nairobi onto Kampala

Two Tanzanian Bus Companies are teasing new routes to Kenya and Uganda, from Dar-es-salaam City.

Abood Bus had once promised to start plying the Dar-es-salaam to Nairobi journey, but for some reason, the company chickened out of the route, currently dominated by the old gun, Tahmeed and two newcomers, BM Coach and Kidia One Express.

Now the Morogoro-based Abood Bus, which recently also announced a new route linking Dar-es-salaam city to Tanga, along the Indian Ocean Coastline, is now threatening to go beyond the border proceeding into the Mombasa City of Kenya.

But the Red-colored, Abood, which is teasing the new route on the company’s social media platforms, is known for quitting attempts at the last minute, either due to fear or lacking enough skilled manpower to front the battle.

So, Abood’s latest claims to be attempting the Dar to Mombasa route, should also be taken with a pinch of salt.

On the other hand, Kidia One Express, the blue bus which has been plying between Dar-es-salaam and Nairobi cities, is also planning to extend the trip beyond Kenya, proceeding to Kampala, in Uganda. The Tanzania Times can establish.

Kidia has been plying the Dar-es-salaam to Nairobi route for over a year now. It is thus stretching this to include Kampala, in Uganda, among the regional destinations.

On the other hand, BM Coach, which has also been linking Dar with Nairobi may hatch other plans, now that its fleet has grown larger.

BM Coach, a company also based in Morogoro, recently launched another subsidiary luxury line of buses to serve alongside the mother company but under the new name of B One Coach as a means to survive in the cutthroat cross-country passenger ferrying marathon.

East African Bus Companies at cross-border Cutthroat competition

With most East African countries now improving on their road infrastructure, journeys are getting shorter, this is therefore driving bus operators to extend their usual routes in their quest to fish for more passengers.

East Africa’s biggest bus company, Tahmeed has been enjoying traversing between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but it seems now this bedrock business module is slowly but surely getting invaded by other entities.

Tahmeed mostly deploys European machines, the more advanced and Swedish built Scania coaches, while all the company competitors are commissioning Chinese made buses, mostly Yutong vehicles and a few Zhongtong buses, all powered by Jiefang Cummins mills.