HARARE - Commuters have had to dig deeper into their pockets following the recent increase in transport fares, caused by the rising prices of diesel and petrol. Bus fares have, in some cases, been hiked by a staggering 100 per cent for distances over 20km. Commuters feel that the prices are extortionate.There is no justification in the increase, fuel did not increase by 100 per cent, so they should at least make reasonable adjustments, said Eugene Nyagwande from Ruwa.
Commuters who travel from suburbs less than 10km from the city centre have had to fork out US$1 per journey. Bus operators said adjustments were impossible.
Where can we get the separate money? There are no coins in the country, so we adjusted the fares to the nearest round figure, unfortunately that meant increasing the fares by twofold, said bus driver Ronald Machengauta.
As a result of the sharp increase, many people now spend hours waiting for the cheaper public transport, ZUPCO. Bus operators also claim that the police and Vehicle Inspection Department have been demanding high and unjustifiable fines.
If you travel from Harare to Chitungwiza you are bound to be stopped at least three times. There is the VID, the ever present police and now we have to content with ZBC licensing officers. At the end of the day the money that you would have made for a trip will all be taken, our customers therefore must bear with us, said another commuter bus operator.