Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, Zimpapers Writer
BARELY a fortnight into the New Year, the festive cheer of the residents living along Sixth Avenue, has already been drowned by hooting kombis, shouting touts and gridlocked traffic, a familiar script that has refused to move with the changing calendar.
Despite routine police raids and repeated pledges to restore order, Bulawayo’s most notorious illegal commuter omnibus rank has once again become a hive of chaos, leaving residents, motorists and registered transport operators counting the cost of old habits that die hard.
From illegal kombis and pirate taxis to inter-city buses picking and dropping passengers at undesignated points, lawlessness continue to thrive in the city centre. During peak hours — mornings, afternoons and after work — traffic regulations and city by-laws appear optional, sometimes even in the presence of Tendy Three Investments (TTI) parking marshals.
“It’s only the second week of the year, but Sixth Avenue already tells you everything you need to know,” said a resident who lives in a block of flats overlooking the illegal rank.
From her third-floor apartment, she offered a bird’s-eye view of the disorder unfolding below.
“We see everything from up here, my children included. They see the chaos and unfortunately, they hear the vulgar language and insults that the kombi drivers and touts shout at each other every day. This is something we are forced to live with,” said the resident who declined to be named.
At around 2PM on Friday, the street was already clogged with vehicles as illegal taxi operators jostled for passengers, blocking the road entirely and turning driving into a nightmare for other motorists, while heightening the risk of accidents.
While residents bear the brunt of the disorder, registered transport operators say they are bleeding financially as illegal operators flout rules with impunity.
Bulawayo has four registered public passenger operators — Tshova Mubaiwa, Bulawayo United Passenger Transporters Association (Bupta), Bulawayo City Transit and Vuka Uzimele Taxi Association (Vuta) — all bound by council by-laws and the city’s transport policy.
Council regulations require all public transport operators to be registered, pick up and drop off passengers only at designated points, and operate from approved termini along routes established by council in consultation with transport associations.
However, illegal taxi operators — commonly known as mshikashika — and pirate kombis continue to rank at Sixth Avenue, openly defying these regulations.
Mr Elisha Taurai, Tshova Mubaiwa’s route overseer, said the situation was crippling legitimate operators.
“These illegal taxi operators do not pay council fees or Government taxes. They are a law unto themselves, yet they compete directly with associations like Tshova Mubaiwa, which must comply with every regulation,” he said.
“Passengers are picked up on their way to designated taxi ranks, making it difficult to stop these operations. We appeal to the police to enforce the law and keep them off the roads.”
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said law enforcement agencies had declared zero tolerance to illegal activities.
“As police in Bulawayo, we will continue conducting raids on offenders, including the kingpins behind illegal taxi ranks. No one is above the law,” she said.
Despite the clampdown, drivers and touts operating illegally continue to be defiant, arguing that commuter preferences are driving their continued presence at Sixth Avenue.
“It’s not our fault that passengers prefer boarding transport here instead of Egodini. At Egodini, a kombi can take up to an hour to fill up. Here during peak hours, it takes five minutes for an 18-seater to leave for Luveve, Emakhandeni, Entumbane and other suburbs,” said one kombi driver.”
Ironically, some vendors operating along Sixth Avenue say they would prefer the illegal rank to remain, citing booming business driven by the constant flow of people and vehicles.
“Cold drinks, energy drinks and bottled water sell fast here. Without this rank, many of us would go out of business,” said a female vendor.
Caught between enforcing the law, protecting residents’ quality of life and managing commuter needs, the City of Bulawayo once again finds itself wedged between a rock and a hard place as Sixth Avenue continues to symbolise a transport system struggling to break free from the past.
Sixth Avenue has for years operated as an unofficial transport hub, particularly for routes to high-density suburbs such as Luveve, Emakhandeni, Entumbane and Nkulumane. The situation worsened following the closure of the old Egodini terminus to pave the way for redevelopment into a modern shopping mall and transport hub, forcing commuter omnibuses to temporarily operate from alternative sites.
Although parts of the Egodini Mall terminus have since been reopened and upgraded, many operators and commuters have been slow to fully embrace the facility, citing congestion, delays in filling up vehicles and inadequate amenities.
As a result, illegal kombis and mshikashika and even some inter-city buses have continued to pick up and drop off passengers at undesignated points along Sixth Avenue and surrounding streets.
Urban planners and transport experts have previously warned that without a fully functional central transport terminus, consistent enforcement of by-laws and commuter buy-in, Bulawayo will continue to grapple with disorder in its city centre.
