Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardInferential Comprehension and Deduction

Read the passage below carefully and evaluate the statement that follows.

For decades, urban planners in Dar es Salaam viewed informal minibus operators—known locally as dala-dalas—as chaotic impediments to modern transit infrastructure. When municipal authorities launched a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network designed to replace these informal fleets along major arterial corridors, they anticipated widespread commuter migration. However, passenger volume on secondary routes feeding into the BRT stations spiked unexpectedly, causing severe bottleneck congestion at feeder nodes. Subsequent transit surveys revealed that while commuters appreciated the speed of the dedicated BRT lanes, the vast majority relied on dala-dalas for last-mile connectivity to inner-neighborhood destinations unserviced by high-capacity buses. Rather than driving informal operators out of business as projected, the BRT system inadvertently transformed dala-dalas from primary long-distance carriers into indispensable localized shuttle networks, increasing their overall daily passenger turnaround despite shortened trip distances.

Statement: The implementation of Dar es Salaam's Bus Rapid Transit system reshaped the operational role of dala-dalas rather than terminating their economic relevance.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is TRUE. The text demonstrates that the BRT network altered the functional pattern of dala-dalas from long-distance transport to localized feeder shuttles, maintaining and even increasing their daily passenger volume.
The correct assessment is True because the text explicitly illustrates an adaptive shift: dala-dalas pivoted from arterial long-distance routes to neighborhood feeder lines. This altered their operational function while increasing daily passenger volume, confirming that their economic relevance was preserved.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the initial projection of municipal authorities regarding informal operators.
Authorities expected the BRT network to replace informal fleets and drive them out of business.
Establishing the baseline expectation highlights the contrast with actual outcomes.
2
Analyze how commuters integrated both transit modes.
Commuters used BRT for high-speed arterial travel and relied on dala-dalas for last-mile access to neighborhood destinations.
This explains the shift in demand along secondary routes.
3
Deduce the structural effect on dala-dala operations.
Dala-dalas shifted roles from long-distance carriers to localized shuttle networks with increased turnaround.
Synthesizing this evidence proves that their function was reshaped without destroying their economic relevance.

Key Concept

Inferential Deduction from Implicit Cause-and-Effect Relationships
Rate this question

Topics

Inferential Comprehension and Deduction

More questions from this topic