Omnibus operators face arrests and angry public as fares soar

By Tererai Karimakwenda
30 June 2006

Operators of Zimbabwe’s commuter omnibuses are caught between a rock and a hard place these days. On one hand is a government without solutions to the fuel crisis that is contributing to massive fare increases. And on the other is an angry and frustrated public trying to get to work and blaming bus operators for charging too much. Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa reports that the government is failing to provide enough fuel under a scheme that subsidises fuel costs for minibus operators and was introduced to alleviate transport problems. He said the operators are forced to buy more on the black market at exorbitant prices and they pass this cost onto commuters. The police then arrest any operators charging above the government’s prescribed rates and commuters get angry at them for increasing fares frequently. As a result many operators are choosing to park their vehicles rather than lose money or get arrested.

Muchemwa said under the subsidised scheme government sells fuel to commuter operators for about Z$26,000 per litre. But deliveries are coming in on average once every 4 weeks. This creates a demand for fuel from the black market which is currently selling at about Z$600,000 per litre. Without charging more than the gazetted government fares operators would lose a lot of money. Authorities have also ordered them to have tickets with the destination fares written on them. Failure to possess these can lead to arrest.

And there is more. Muchemwa told us vehicles that are not considered road worthy are being towed away and impounded. This has led to fewer minibuses on the roads and created long queues during business rush hours. Muchemwa said commuters are frustrated and angry. And instead of approaching the responsible government officials they blame the people they deal with - drivers and conductors. A recent incident in Chitungwiza is reported to have quickly escalated into violence. Muchemwa said the passengers on a minibus that had just raised fares into town attacked the driver and threatened to burn the vehicle. But the situation was diffused before any damage was done.