From March and no later than June 2023, Rapid transit buses (Brt) will be in Senegal. The announcement was made by the Minister of Land Transport. If Mansour Faye has not set a date for the release of the Brt, he wanted to ensure that the deadlines will be respected. Senegal, which sees its population double every 50 years, has chosen to invest in mass transport.If the Regional Express Train (Ter) has already convinced a good number of Dakar residents, urban mobility is still a problem in the capital.In this sense, the Minister of Land Transport announced that « electric buses have already been ordered.And there are about twenty already purchased that will be in Senegal before March 2023, and before June 2023, the other buses will come.Thus, the Brt will start as planned. »Faye said all infrastructure will be finalised in time by December.
With a total cost of about 300 billion CFA francs, the Brt will have a rich fleet of 144 articulated buses, which will carry up to 300 thousand passengers per day, with a journey time reduced by half between the suburbs and the city centre of Dakar.The first pilot line of buses on reserved lanes will extend over a length of 18.3 km for an estimated journey time of 45 minutes, a reduction of half for a journey that usually takes 95 minutes, states the document.The pilot line will go from Petersen Bus Station to Guédiawaye, the text adds, stressing that the proportion of the regional population that can access the city centre in less than 60 minutes will increase by 12%, from 57% to 69%.
Moreover, the construction sites have come out of the ground along the route.Its release is expected in 2023.In addition, the Minister of Land Transport assured that the extension work of the Ter will be ready on time as announced during the laying of the foundation stone.By Malick GAYE / mgaye@lequotidien.sn