adminPamela Shumba Chronicle Reporter
PUBLIC transporters in Bulawayo have called on the Zanu-PF Government to stem the upsurge of unregistered transporters, saying they were putting them out of business.In an interview yesterday, the secretary-general of the Bulawayo Public Transporters Association (Bupta), Mr Albert Ncube, appealed to the Government to urgently stop unregistered players from providing public transport.
The unregistered transporters have taken over most of the routes in the city. They pick up passengers at the corner of Robert Mugabe Way and 12th Avenue, George Silundika and Leopold Takawira Avenue, Macs Garage, George Silundika Street and 8th Avenue, Kalbro as well as Main Street and 3rd Avenue.
Open trucks and unregistered kombis also pick up passengers from Lobengula Street and 6th Avenue, Herbert Chitepo Street near Edgars, Herbert Chitepo and 11th Avenue and TM Hyper where they charge R3 per passenger compared to the R5 charged by registered operators.
“Unregistered transporters have literally taken over all the routes in the city and as a result public transporters are struggling to get passengers. This makes it difficult for registered transporters to pay for the papers that are required for them to operate. Drivers need re-tests, medical certificates and defensive licences, which they cannot afford because there is no business.
“The vehicles must have passenger insurance, vehicle insurance, permits and operators’ licences. They must also pay presumptive tax to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra). All this paperwork costs hundreds of dollars but public transporters cannot afford to pay for all the paperwork.
We are therefore appealing to the new Government to stop the unregistered transporters from operating because the public transport industry has collapsed,” said Mr Ncube.
He said the unregistered transporters were freely moving in the city and picking up passengers from undesignated pick-up points while registered transporters were stuck at Egodini (Basch Street Terminus).
“It is impossible to compete with these people because they have too much freedom and police target registered kombi operators. We are pinning our hopes on the Government which should act to bring back sanity on our roads. We engaged the Bulawayo City Council, the Vehicle Inspection Depot (VID) and the police but nothing has changed.
“We have absolutely lost business because commuters no longer go to Egodini. They just go to private cars at a nearby pick up point and some of them charge R3 which we cannot do.
“On average, a kombi operating in the eastern suburbs and queuing at Egodini now brings home about $20 while those in western suburbs realise between $30 and $40 only per day,” said Mr Ncube.
He said because of poor business, their members were even failing to raise route approval fees pegged at $110 paid after every six months, permits ($75 annual) and certificates of fitness which cost $20 per entry.
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