Online Reporter
The Herald 5 December 1988
REPLACEMENT buses for some irreparable vehicles in the urban fleet have already been assembled and the first of the 184-seater articulated buses intended for the Harare-Chitungwiza route should be on the road next month.
Last night, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development, Cde Enos Chikowore, admitted that the upgrading of urban transport, especially in Harare, was taking longer than expected.
Delays were due to several causes, including financial arrangements that had to be made. It had also been found that the existing fleet was in an even worse state than thought before.
But progress was being made in the three major areas, an increase in the size of the urban bus fleet, the introduction of big articulated buses, and a mass-transit rail system for the Harare metropolitan area.
Until recently urban bus services had been the responsibility of a private company. The Government had acquired, for just over $10 million, a 51 percent stake in the company by buying newly created shares.
But before this capital injection could be turned into buses, arrangements had to be made for the necessary currency allocation and assembly.
The allocation of $6,8 million for shares had not boosted the number of buses on the road as much as expected as some of the 1 020 in the fleet were so old as to be irreparable.
Assembly had already started on 145 buses but these would only be replacement vehicles.
Cde Chikowore said the Willowvale Motor Industries had written to him and said they had found an assembler for five articulated buses each able to carry 184 passengers.
At least one, and perhaps three, would be ready next month.
These buses would be used on the Harare to Chitungwiza route. The road between the two urban centres was being widened to eliminate traffic jams and ensure a much more efficient use of vehicles.
Lessons for today:
- The strategic shift from simply increasing fleet size to embracing environmental innovation, multimodal integration, and regulatory reform represents progress, but successful implementation hinges on resolving infrastructure and capacity bottlenecks.
- Zimbabwe is actively seeking private capital for rail and broader transport infrastructure, embodied in rail upgrades and trunk road developments tied to private financing. Private operators in Zimbabwe provide essential transport services across informal kombis, formally regulated bus companies like PUTCO, and public–private partnerships. Transport policy is now focused on integrating these diverse operators into a safer, more organised, and sustainable urban mobility framework.
- Collectively, these systemic challenges, regulatory, financial, infrastructural, and policy-related create significant hurdles for private transport operators.
- Without clear formalisation pathways, infrastructure investment, and constructive regulation, both informal and private fleets remain under pressure, which in turn affects commuter access and safety.
