TRANSPORT SERVICES FOR SOLOMONI MAHALANGU COMPUS-MOROGORO

Sokoine University of Agriculture consist of two campuses, Main Campus and Solomon Mahalangu Campus, and the distance from two campuses is almost twelve kilometers, so transport is very important for the students and workers of SUA.

Also, there are two major ways of transport which are used between these two campuses. These transports are public transport which are used by the students and non-students from the Main campus to town for Tshs four hundred shillings, then getting another bus from town to Solomon Mahalangu Campus for another four hundred shillings per person, This happens due to the geographical location and arrangement of public transport routes. Further, the university transport is available at a specific time interval that corresponds to sessions of the university arrangements of lectures. However, this transport is used by tutors and other supporting staff. The university does not provide transport for students but in case of practical sessions there are special university buses that which provide transport services to and from the two campuses. Lastly, SUA provides transport for the students who go for research in different regions in Tanzania. Furthermore we have minor transport that some other students use including motorcycle and bicycle.

The student leaders of SUA are still looking for the possibility of getting public transport to Kihonda flats where some students live, The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) has started arranging for the new route which will start from town to Mazimbu passing through Msamvu to Kihonda flats in order to help students to get transport directly to Mazimbu.

The picture shows the public transport which operate from town to Mazimbu

 

Hiace with passenger

The picture shows one of the SUA bus which is used to pick the students from SUA Main Campus to SMC Mazimbu for practical sessions

SUA BUS

The picture shows the SUA bus which used to pick the staff from SUA Main Campus to SMC Mazimbu

STAFF BUS OF SUA

 SECURITY

Also, in order to maintain security, all vehicles must be inspected before leaving the main gate as it is shown in the picture below.

 

SECURITY

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure, Road is one of the important infrastructure found everywhere, the roads at SUA are paved which makes easier to travel from SUA Main Campus to Solomon Mahalangu Campus.

Road

The picture shows bushes found in Ngerengere River which courses floods which destroy infrastructure.

Bushes of Ngerengere

The picture shows part of the road which was destroyed by floods,

Floods

CHALLENGES

However there are some challenges which faces, caused by human activities and River Ngerengere;

Not all students live within the campuses; therefore, the said Public transport and SUA transport do not reach there. Thus, they spent more money compared to those who leave within the campus, for instance, students who reside at Kihonda flats. Again, there is no direct transport from Main Campus to Solomon Mahalangu which results into lost of time and money by having two routes. Moreover, during the rainy seasons, the SMC Bridge which is situated at the main gate is usually flooded by the water from the Ngerengere River. This, among other factors, causes a lot of destruction to the SMC-town road.

There is also lack of road signs, for instance, there is no road sign for zebra crossing near Solomon Mahalangu Primary school which may cause accident. Lastly, due to lack of signs, people, especially guests, are normally confused when it comes to locating different places in the campus, that is, Solomon Mahalangu offices and other buildings.

Therefore transport is so important in the development of people in every place around us, and in order to achieve the goal, SUA has to overcome the challenges which arise every time to make sure that transport system stay in a good condition in all the seasons.