The number of transport licences issued in Tanzania has more than doubled in five years, highlighting the rapid expansion of the road transport sector and increasing demand for regulatory services, the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) has said.
LATRA said the number of licences rose from 239,953 in the 2021/22 financial year to 590,468 in 2025/26, an increase of 146.1 percent.
The authority attributed the growth to increased transport activity and improvements in its licensing and monitoring systems, including the Road and Rail Transport Information Management System (RRIMS), which allows transport operators to access licensing services electronically.
The regulator's figures were presented in Dar es Salaam on Thursday during a briefing on its performance during the five-year period of President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration.
LATRA's expansion of digital systems comes as the authority seeks to strengthen oversight of a growing transport industry. Its online services currently include RRIMS, the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), driver testing, passenger information and ticketing platforms.
The VTS has become one of LATRA's main tools for monitoring public transport vehicles. The system tracks vehicles and can identify issues such as speeding, route deviations and other operational risks. LATRA says the technology has been in use since 2017.
According to the authority's latest briefing, buses connected to the tracking system increased from 5,979 in 2021/22 to 14,743 in 2025/26.
LATRA also said it examined 15,547 drivers during the period, with 8,642 qualifying for certification, equivalent to a 56 percent pass rate.
The authority trained 7,216 bus attendants, of whom 4,664 were registered, as part of efforts to improve compliance and service standards.
The growth has also extended to app-based taxi services. LATRA said 22 online taxi platforms had been licensed, with 23,532 active licences recorded.
The regulator has recently been increasing oversight of online taxi services as Tanzania prepares for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. LATRA said the digital systems would help it monitor operators and improve service accountability.
For conventional public transport, LATRA reported 62.18 million passenger transactions during the period, generating about TZS2.13 trillion in fares.
Cash remained the dominant payment method, accounting for 95.3 percent of passenger transactions and 93.2 percent of the value of fares, while online payments represented 4.7 percent of transactions and 6.8 percent of fare value.
The figures point to a still-limited uptake of digital payments despite the expansion of electronic services across the transport sector.
LATRA has also continued to tighten compliance among operators. In August, the authority reminded daladala operators that licence conditions require them to provide safe and reliable services, including avoiding route cuts and overcharging passengers.
It has also begun fitting tracking devices on daladala found to be violating licence conditions.
On rail transport, LATRA said it carried out 275 inspections involving Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) and Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).
The authority also reported growth in the country's standard gauge railway operations, including 17 locomotives, 56 passenger coaches, 10 electric multiple units, eight TRC locomotives and 264 freight wagons.
LATRA said the regulatory framework was also being expanded to accommodate emerging forms of transport, including cable transport, with potential identified in eight regions.
The authority is preparing for increased demand for transport services ahead of AFCON 2027, which Tanzania will co-host with Kenya and Uganda.
It also plans to hold Sustainable Land Transport Week from November 24 to 26, 2026, bringing together an estimated 2,000 participants to discuss transport safety, technology and sustainability.
LATRA's growing use of technology is part of a broader effort to shift transport regulation from largely manual processes to systems that provide real-time information and allow passengers and operators to access services remotely.
The authority currently provides toll-free customer lines on 0800110019 and 0800110020.