John Ndlovu and Clive Thabo Dube
Residents of the sprawling high density suburb of Cowdray Park are crying fowl after transport operators who service the area hiked fares to a US$1.
Cowdray Park which is located 16 kilometers from the Central Business District(C.B.D) is a neighbourhood that lacks other social amenities like shops, recreational and medical facilities. While other Bulawayo residents spend a US$1 on transport, residents of Cowdray Park have to budget US$2 a day if they are to come to town daily.
”These people take advantage of unavailability of ZUPCO, if buses are around they charge 10Rand, but when they realise that transport is scarce they charge US$1 or more. But as we look at the dropping fuel prizes it does not make sense.”Said one commuter, Tadiwa Mamire.
Another Cowdray Park resident Minolah Nyathi told Zim GBC News that the hiking of transport fares by operators has left her contemplating to quit her job because it now seems as if she is working for transport money.
“It really affects my budget, now it means I work for transport expenses and on top of being overcharged in the evening kombies usually don’t reach out to our destinations which therefore puts me at risk of being robbed.”Nyathi said.
Another commuter who says they are a student at Mzilikazi High School said besides the hiking of fares, the transport operators also overload passengers like sardines in a tin.
“It’s a really depressing situation which we face daily, imagine paying for full transport fare they you are overloaded and pumped into the kombis a tactic they use to maximize profits.”Said a student.