Police losing battle against buses, kombis’ illegal ranking

worse during peak hours. Kombis loading passengers illegally block the road and the passengers in turn block the pavement. Crossing the road when there is panic among the kombi drivers triggered by the arrival of traffic police puts one at risk of being knocked down.
Here the police are fighting a losing battle against illegal operators. They have resorted to all manner of tactics in a bid to control the situation. From plain-clothed operations where police officers pretend to be passengers to full-scale raids, nothing seems to work. Even passengers who make use of this area as their boarding point have come under fire recently.
The transport operators, despite arrests, continue to operate from this undesignated pick-up point although the designated pick-up point, Basch Street Bus Terminus, or Egodini, is just a few metres away.
Along First Avenue on Harare Road, touts are kings. The slightest indication that you are travelling gets you mobbed by a number of them and fistfights are common among the touts who are most of the time drunk. Pirate taxi operators plying the Harare-Bulawayo route also engage in trade wars and it is normal for them to pull passengers and luggage out of a rival’s car that would be speeding away.
There are other illegal pick-up points in the city. Though some are not as bad as Sixth Avenue and Harare Road, the same law applies to them all.
When headed out of town to the north or west using public transport, the choice is a trip to Entumbane country bus terminus or a walk to the corner of Masotsha Ndlovu and Lady Stanley Avenue, near Amakhosi Township Square.
Alvin Chabilika, a student at Lupane State University, uses the hiking point near Amakhosi Township Square when he travels between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, his hometown. He lives in Paddonhurst when he is in Bulawayo.
He said: “I know it’s illegal for kombis and other motorists to pick up passengers here. But here you catch a lift or bus that is going already. If you go to Entumbane you will sit for hours in a kombi waiting for it to be full.
“There are no pick-pockets here unlike at Renkini. Maybe at night I wouldn’t know, but it is safe here and if they legalise this place it would ease the pressure on other termini”.
He said it would be better if the city council built shelters or allowed advertising companies to do so and re-open the public toilet that is nearby.
Some of these illegal pick-up points are simply convenient and the authorities will find it difficult, if not impossible, to dissuade both transport operators and their clients from using them.
Even some police officers make use of these hiking spots. Uniformed police officers who were waiting for lifts at this hiking point recently laughed off questions about them seeking transport at an illegal pick-up point.
“No comment,” said one of them adding that they are not allowed to speak to the media.
Recently the city council held a stakeholders meeting with transport operators. The idea of legitimising some of these points and establishing others was raised.
However, the city council shot down a proposal by Amakhosi to have part of their property used as a rank and instead allocated the Victoria Falls Taxis Association a place along Lobengula Street. These taxis, however, still pick up passengers near Amakhosi.
When asked about this practice, a rank marshal with the association said they are merely businesspeople and they will go where their clients are.
“We pay ranking fees everyday to the city council for the place near Vadees but people are reluctant to use designated ranks and still come here so we will follow them. Even along Sixth Avenue, Egodini is just a stone’s throw away but people still use the illegal pick-up point. We would, however, like the place legalised so that we just pay our rates to the city council and stop paying bribes to the police”.
Surprisingly some touts and vendors who operate from the area are against the idea of having the place legalised.
“This is a no-stopping area so how can it be made a pick-up point?” asked one tout.
On the subject of paying bribes, several rank marshals became vocal saying that some policemen were getting out of hand.
“Any policeman who is broke comes to us for money – the anti-riot police, traffic police, the plain-clothed and even officers from the stock theft unit harass us.
“When you give them money you don’t get a receipt so it’s anybody’s guess where that money goes. We want the minister or whoever is responsible to control the police.”
The marshals acknowledged the fact that paying bribes is a criminal act but they said the police officers often give them a choice of paying a bribe or having their vehicles impounded and taken to Drill Hall. The latter option does not appeal to them because it means loss of business for several days as the police will always find fault with or could damage their vehicles as a way of “fixing” them, the crews allege. The minimum fee at Drill Hall is $60, they said.
“Bayafika beyikwatule imota khonale eDrill Hall sokucina kufuneka amanye amafitness tests,” a rank marshal quipped.
The marshals also lamented the fact that police seemed to target kombis while allowing haulage trucks and other private motorists to pick up passengers at undesignated pick-up points.
“Our kombis are parked a distance from the road. We do not obstruct traffic but a haulage truck will stop and block an entire lane while picking up passengers. When the police come they will harass the kombi driver and leave the others as though they are not guilty of the same offence.
“It’s about money,” one of them said, “everyone thinks that kombis have got money yet we are struggling to make ends meet.”
The Bulawayo City Council, however, chose to remain mum on the issue as persistent enquiries to the public relations office yielded no results.
As the festive season begins and the number of travellers headed out of town increases, more will make use of these undesignated pick-up places. If the city fathers really have the interests of the people at heart, they should follow the people’s lead and where it is good to do so, legalise the places that people find convenient.