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By Aaron Tembo
The National Coordinator of the Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ), Mr. Tafadzwa Goliati has called on the government to put an end to the ZUPCO monopoly and bemoaned the fact that people who commute to work on a daily basis are being seriously affected by the inefficiency of the public transporter.
“The monopoly by the ZUPCO (Zimbabwe United Passenger Company) has become a disservice for the millions who are in dire need of daily passenger service vehicles to take them to their work and back home,” said Goliati in a press statement released on 22 March.
The government introduced the ZUPCO monopoly as a Covid-19 lockdown regulation when only essential service providers were allowed to work. However, there has not been a significant easing of the situation, especially for the millions who rise up to go to formal and informal employment.
ZUPCO and those buses registered with them are failing to cope with the demand for its services, such that most people have reverted to mishika-shika – hiking with lorries, and using private vehicles. They are forced to use other forms of transport rather than stand for two or more hours at bus termini, sometimes during rainy days. In addition, some bus and kombi operators, disgruntled with ZUPCO over revenue, pulled out.
Many of the buses that are registered with ZUPCO are old and unroadworthy. This rainy season passengers have experienced a strange phenomenon, as it rains inside some of these buses.
“Passengers end up wearing raincoats, opening umbrellas, or standing in the aisle because it will be raining on the bus,” laments PAZ’s National Coordinator.
Some of the buses have failing brakes and there are cases whereby they end up involved in accidents due to brake failures.
Commuters from places such as Chitungwiza who travel up to 30 kilometres to work in Harare’s CBD complain about the buses snail’s pace as they travel at 40km an hour or less, such that they will not get to work on time.
PAZ has called on the government to own up to its promise to deliver the bus fleet, which perhaps may not be feasible because supplier Belarus has reportedly joined the war between Russia and Ukraine.