Taxi war looms in city

This came out during a meeting between Bulawayo Public Transporters Association (BUPTA), police and Bulawayo City Council (BCC) officials last Friday.
A programme will soon be launched under which registered public transporters would be given route cards at designated loading areas in a bid to do away with unregistered transport operators.
Members of BUPTA and police will patrol in and around the city arresting unregistered transporters. The programme will also see the BCC intensifying its clamping of vehicles operating at undesignated loading bays.
However, the unregistered public transporters hit back saying what BUPTA was doing was trying to stop an “inevitable revolution” in the public transport sector.
In an interview BUPTA general secretary, Mr Albert Ncube, said the programme will see those operating at illegal loading bays that have sprouted around the city being arrested and having their vehicles impounded.
“Look at Kalbro and Sixth Avenue, there is a perennial problem. Please may the relevant authorities look into these areas promptly,” he said.
Mr Ncube said the programme will see registered public transporters being given route cards at designated loading areas in a bid to remove unregistered operators from the city’s roads.
“The unregistered public transporters operating from these undesignated areas are taking away business from the registered operators. They do not pay anything and their drivers are not going for medicals and re-tests as is required by law,” he said.
Police Chief Inspector, Moses Mateko, who was standing in for the Officer-in-Charge of Bulawayo Traffic, Superintendent Henry Mhlanga, said public transporters should engage the police so as to share ideas on how to come up with a lasting solution to the problem of illegal transporters.
“I hope you come out of your comfort zones and assist the police to bring sanity on our roads,” said Chief Insp Mateko.
He said police will support the programme of getting rid of unregistered transporters as this would bring sanity on the roads in the city.
“I commend the card system. It is a noble idea. We shall support the initiative to stop the chaos that is there in the city. This will go a long way in bringing sanity to problematic places such as Sixth Avenue and Kalbro,” Chief Insp Mateko said.
BCC traffic officer, Mr Ndumiso Ndlovu said the local authority had adopted a no-nonsense approach to stop transporters from operating from undesignated places.
“Municipal police will intensify patrols in the city and clamp those vehicles found loading or dropping passengers at undesignated areas,” Mr Ndlovu said.
However, chairman of the Express Private Car Commuter Services, a group of unregistered private vehicles that operate between Leopold Takawira and Sixth Avenue along George Silundika Street, Mr Mpilkelelo Khumalo, said the development was unfortunate as the law has a provision for unmetered taxis to operate.
He said the residents preferred smaller cars especially during the morning and evening rush hours. “This planned clampdown on unregistered operators is not taking into account the plight of the commuting public which should be given a choice of the transport they want to use,” he said.
Mr Khumalo said passengers were unhappy with behaviour of kombi crews who did not respect them.
“They insult people and this has prompted residents to to approach us as private operators so that we provide  transport  on the different routes in the  city,” Mr Khumalo said.
Chairman of the Ntabeni Residents Association Mr Boas Nkiwane said as residents they were happy with the way the private transporters were operating.