Zupco has failed, what next?

Touts rush to claim vehicles that stop for passengers. They will demand a fee for loading the car. Which simply means screaming the destination in Chitungwiza. At some secret code, almost all drivers take off at high speed, putting themselves, the touts and commuters at risk.

The police- municipal and national- have arrived to clear the undesignated pick up points. Armed with spikes, the police too run the risk of being mown down by reckless drivers eager to flee the prohibitive fines and or impounding of their vehicles if caught..

Hapless commuters mill around. Some have been shivering in the biting chill of the evening winter wind for more than an hour, waiting to get transport home

It is just another day in the life of a Harare commuter where the State-owned Zimbabwe United Passenger Company has failed to provide viable efficient and affordable mass transit services for commuters.

Resident associations say local authority autonomy is the answer

Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents Association director Marvelous Kumalo told Zim Now in an interview that transportation was one of the issues that about 40 residents associations spoke about at a meeting in Gweru last year.

“As residents associations, we are saying in as much as central government needs a stake in public transportation, local authorities should also have a role. Remember way back we used to have public transport or conventional buses owned by local authorities. That system must also be brought back so that in our local areas, we also contribute towards national development.

“In short, we were speaking of a devolved form of governance and a devolved kind of transport system instead of buses coming from a national entity such as the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, let’s have also local authorities plying their own local routes.

“We know we have the kombis but we have faced a host of challenges from these; some of the drivers are not licensed, some of the vehicles are not roadworthy, the cat and mouse games between the kombis and the police have led to either injury or unnecessary loss of life.

Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba said an efficient and effective mass public transportation system ensures the safety and timely movement of commuters.

“It is most relevant and desirable in this 21st century modernisation. People want to be certain that they will get on time to their intended destination. A public transport system helps decongest the City centre.

“Zupco has dismally failed to serve the urban population in terms of transportation. The buses are unavailable to the commuters when they need them. It is supposed to be an integral part of a public transport system,” he said.

Shumba added: “However, without adequate private commuter omnibuses and in the absence of railway transport system, and an unreliable Zupco bus service, commuters become helpless and vulnerable to manipulation and abuse. The use of Zupco buses to ferry political party supporters is most inconvenient for urban commuters. It is not a problem if the political parties pay for the use of the buses but it would be a tragedy if they do not pay.

Chitungwiza Residents Association director Alice Kuvheya also amplified the need for an affordable and efficient transport system. “Chitungwiza has been having transport challenges for a long time. We experience highest fares. Commuter operators [plying routes in Chitungwiza, especially the kombis charge exorbitant fares, as much as US$2 or beyond for a single trip.

“An efficient, affordable and reliable mass public transport system is needed urgently in Chitungwiza for the benefit of residents. Every Jack and Jill who comes to ply Chitungwiza routes charges different fares. People then look for alternative modes of transport but unfortunately, we have witnessed several robberies as people fall victim owing to their desperation.

“Besides, Zupco buses are very few and no one knows their timetables, they choose where they want to go, etc. The bulk of the buses are not adequately serviced, especially those on franchise arrangements,” Kuvheya told Zim Now.

Operators want a seat at the strategy table

Chitungwiza Commuter Omnibus Operators Association secretary Davison Gutusa said, for a long time they had wanted to be at the forefront of providing a lasting solution to transport problems bedeviling residents of Chitungwiza, the bulk of whom work in Harare.

“We, as commuter omnibus operators based in Chitungwiza, always wanted to be part of the solution to transport blues in Chitungwiza. At one point, we were invited and indeed raveled all the way to China hoping to engage a supplier for conventional buses. We thought we could get buses on a higher purchase agreement like happens in South Africa.

We wanted the buses to be operated by the association to begin with an online payment system that will allow for money to go into an account from which the bulk of it would go towards payment for the buses. Later, we realized the person who had invited us was more interested in supplying us with the tap card system for our kombis and the buses if we managed to get them.

“At the end of the day, we failed to agree and there was nothing,” said Gutusa.

He added that there is need for local authorities to ensure their residents have access to an efficient, affordable and reliable mass public transport system for the good of the citizens.

Patrick Machaya, 56, has been resident in Harare for years now and he remembers fondly the efficiency displayed by the Harare United Omnibus Company.

Remembering the good old United days

“You would know the time intervals to the minute. The ticket agents were in place all the time and commuters respected queues. These days, we have touts all over, the bulk of whom are foul-mouthed and often end up being accused of stealing from travellers.

“This was unheard of. If only the same system could be brought back but of course, with improvements, then commuting would be a pleasure in urban areas,” Machaya told Zim Now.

“The absence of a reliable, efficient and affordable transport system has created so many problems for the country and these were unheard of. The rise of mushika shika is a direct consequence of not having a viable mass transport system. Mushika shika has become a real menace and creates headaches for law enforcement agencies who, on their part rely on sanctioned operations to deal with the problem,” said Pishai Gaza, a welder at Siya So in Mbare.

He added that police should be resolute if they want to destroy mushika shika because buses actually go to mushikashika to look for passengers. There are no buses at bus ranks.

He added that if a railway system was added to the equation, then surely the obtaining congestion would be a thing of the past.

Questions on the current size of the Zupco fleet, both bonafide Zupco vehicles and those on franchise that were sent to the State-owned transporter were not responded to.

Meanwhile, the Zupco buses are hardly visible on the roads while it is a daily battle to get transport for commuters in many urban settlements in the country.

Zupco challenges

Zupco has peculiar challenges that its predecessor did not face. The first being that under the colonial government urban populations were strictly controlled and therefore it was easy to plan sustainably for service.

The second is that with all people formally employed and paying taxes, government could provide social services like subsidised health, education and commuting services at affordable rates. But currently, Zimbabwe’s employment is mostly in the informal sector where the majority of people do not pay taxes, thus making government subsidies of commuter services expensive and unsustainable.
Source Zim Now