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Editor – The Passengers’ Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) notes with grave concern the negative effect of fuel shortages.
The commuting public is now being forced to pay high commuter omnibus fares. Commuter omnibuses are justifying the fare increases on the basis that they are getting their fuel from the black market.
The commuting public is being forced to use other forms of transport such as open trucks, which will be overloaded.
In many instances, school children end up sitting on each other’s laps in order to cut down on the amount of commuter omnibus fares that they will be paying.
Commuter omnibuses are overloading as passengers who do not have the required fare sit behind the driver’s seat (paKadoma) or stand.
In addition, many people are getting home as late as 10pm because of the shortage of commuter omnibuses.
This affects children and mothers and some people live in areas where it’s not safe to walk during late hours.
The mass transportation system introduced by the Government is inadequate and most people still depend on commuter omnibuses (kombis) for daily commuting to work or school.
PAZ also notes that even ambulances are affected such that they at times fail to respond to emergencies including road accidents because of the unavailability of fuel.
Given that commuters are forced to use unregistered or private vehicles, which are cheaper they have become susceptible to criminals who rob them of their belongings.
We recommend that the Government of Zimbabwe should prioritise and allocate fuel to commuter omnibuses who are in associations, for the convenience of the commuting public.
PAZ
Online Reporter