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21 January 2022
Lindie Dube
Prosperity Sikhosana<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bulawayo – Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) has reportedly been involved in one accident after another in the last few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the accidents have been fatal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a bid to curb the spread of the corona virus the government through the Ministry of Local Government, banned all registered Passenger Service Vehicles, PSVs, in the form of Kombis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later the Minister reintroduced the Government run ZUPCO carrying a limited number of passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the pandemic receded and the lockdowns were lifted transport was in need, yet the kombi PSVs had been deprived of their transporter permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To alleviate the looming shortage of transport since the ZUPCO fleet was depleted, the Minister invited all registered kombis to operate under the ZUPCO banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, a law was enected which stipulated that only the ZUPCO buses and those allowed to operate under franchise will be allowed to ferry passangers in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still the shortage of urban transport persisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later the Minister invited owners of buses that used to ply rural routes to partake as PSVs under the ZUPCO banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This seemed to work as there seemed to be more vehicles ferrying commuters in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately these buses have better days having long passed their ‘use by’ date. The ages of the AVM and DAF buses date back as far as the early eighties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the buses whose fitness is now under spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday a bus operating under the ZUPCO banner avoided hitting another stationary bus, veered off the road onto the pavement hit five pedestrians and killed one instantly, a woman who was conversing with her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four other pedestrians were critically injured with one succumbing to injuries and dying in hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yesterday, at the robot controlled intersection of Luveve and Masiyephambili Roads in Emakhandeni a fatal accident involving a ZUPCO bus, fleet number 047 and a truck occured taking the life of the truck driver and injuring several passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A witness explained that several ambulances arrived to attend to the injured but many other passengers decided to continue with their journey as it was time to be with family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Some people had already been attended to by the ambulances and some had left the scene before the ambulance arrived,” said a witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The driver of the bus was reportedly not injured but his conductor disappeared from the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, ZUPCO buses and kombis have been under strain to ferry passengers to and from town since the ZRP is rampant on the City’s roads with several roadblocks as they are on an operation to rid of unlicenced, unregistered and illegally pirating drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Mshikashkas under seige by the police this has resulted in long queues for Zupco transporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n