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Commuter omnibus operators plying the City-Cowdray Park route in Bulawayo have been given a three-day ultimatum by residents to reduce their fares to R5 a trip which is charged for most routes in the city. The operators are reportedly charging between R6 and R7. The residents have warned that failure to comply will leave them with no option but to ban the defiant operators from plying the route.
The residents have since formed a taskforce to engage the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development as they want the Government to order the operators to reduce the fare to R5 which is charged by operators in other areas.
The Bulawayo Public Transporters’ Association chairman, Mr Strike Ndlovu, said the association will soon meet both the residents and commuter bus operators with a view to finding common ground. He, however, said what the commuting public should appreciate was the fact that the price of fuel went up but fares for kombis had remained the same.
The Cowdray Park commuter bus operators are arguing that the distances between the city and the suburb’s furthest point is too long hence many of them have been forced to increase fares to between R6 and R7. The distance between the city centre and Cowdray Park’s furthest point is 25 kilometres. What is, however, encouraging is that Bupta is ready to engage both the commuter bus operators and residents in order to resolve the fare dispute.
We need to point out from the onset that both the operators and residents need each other. The operators are providing a very essential service and the residents constitute the commuting public. It is a fact that most routes in the city are charging R5 or less for a trip hence the outcry from residents of Cowdray Park. In the event of the operators sticking to say R7 a trip, it means one would need R14 to travel to the city and back which many workers cannot afford given the low salaries.
The fares will also affect pupils attending schools in the city. It is against this background that we urge the operators and the residents to engage each other. The threat by residents to ban defiant operators is not the solution to the problem because residents cannot do without the kombis. The operators should also be mindful that they are in the transport business and they can only remain in business if those they are supposed to provide the service can afford to pay for the service.
The challenge to both the residents and the operators is to come up with a fare that is affordable and at the same time allows the operators to continue providing the service. The operators can only continue to provide the service if what they charge is viable. The other option that the residents and operators can consider is to allocate bigger buses such as the 36-seater ones to the suburbs’ furthest points so that even if the operators charge R5, the service remains viable.
The councillor for the area Mr Collet Ndlovu said residents wanted to also engage Zupco so that the company could provide buses to service the area which could be another alternative. What is important is to ensure that residents of Cowdray Park like the rest of the city have a reliable and affordable transport service. What is happening now whereby individual operators decide what to charge on a particular day or time should not be allowed.
At times commuter omnibuses from the suburb just go as far as D-Square in Entumbane suburb thereby forcing commuters to board two buses to get to the city. Many of the commuters are therefore left stranded especially during peak hours as many of them cannot afford to pay double the fare. We want to once again implore the residents of Cowdray Park and operators to amicably resolve the fare dispute.
Online Reporter