Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
AN increasing number of Bulawayo residents are resorting to boarding pick-up trucks as the cost of commuting continues to increase in the city.
Some touts have established makeshift ranks that operate during peak hours along Herbert Chitepo and Fort streets.
Passengers ride on the back of pick-up trucks and are often packed like sardines.
Most of the trucks charge about $2 for a trip to town while kombis charge an average of $5. Zupco buses charge $1 for a trip while Zupco kombis charge $2 for a trip.
Residents however, said it was difficult to get Zupco buses or kombis in suburbs such as Pumula South and Nkulumane 10 as they are overwhelmed and sometimes inspectors tell them that there is no fuel.
“I cannot afford $10 a day for myself and $30 daily including my school going children whom I cannot transfer to township schools as I am a tenant and move around the city a lot. So, if we board pick-up trucks, we save up to $18 a day on transport which translates to $90 a week, this goes a long way for us,” said Mr Maxwell Dube.
A tout identified as Tongai along Fort Street yesterday said he works during peak hours only but is able to fend for his family.
“I make way less than touts at kombi ranks. But I take home around $70 daily and it is enough to sustain my wife and child. I open my rank at 3PM and close it at 7PM. It’s better than what some people who are formally employed earn,” he said.
Some women who spoke to this publication said they were now resorting to carrying some clothes in bags and change at work after using pick-up trucks.
“I carry an extra set of clothes, a sarong to sit on and I am always clad in trousers so that I am not exposed when boarding or getting off the truck,” said Ms Senzeni Moyo from Pumula South suburb.
Bulawayo United Residents Association chairman Mr Winos Dube described the latest commuting patterns in the city as a sign of desperation. “The unfolding situation shows that the transport issue in the city is at crisis stage. Yes, we have the Zupcos as they are honestly affordable but they are just so few getting a ride is real luck,” said Mr Dube. — @andile_tshuma
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