Moffat Mungazi
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
PUBLIC transport operators have pledged to ensure significant reduction in road carnage during the forthcoming festive season, and called on local authorities to take control of passenger pick-up points as a way of eradicating the traumatising harassment of travellers.
Over the years, the festive season, just like other public holidays, has always witnessed an increase in road traffic accidents.
Last year, the festive season started on a bloody note, with statistics from Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) showing that at least 20 people died in four days in separate road traffic accidents from December 16 to December 20.
In an interview after their meeting in Mutare last Friday, Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation chairperson, Dr Samson Nhanhanga said all stakeholders including passengers, law enforcement agents as well as public transport operators and their employees, must play their respective roles to ensure a significant reduction in road carnage.
“We are prepared for the festive season. The buses are in place and the public should travel freely. No one should be harassed. We want to have an accident free festive season.
“This meeting, among other things, was meant to remind each other as public transport operators that we need to ensure that our vehicles are in good condition. As the Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Association, I want to remind Zimbabweans that they have their rights, and they should never be abused by drivers or conductors.
“Let us come together and ensure that we report to the police anything that is not right. As passengers, we should also make sure that we do not encourage speeding or any other forms of misconduct on our roads,” said Dr Nhanhanga.
Apart from road carnage, there has been a rising trend of touts harassing travellers as well as employees of public transport at several pick-up points.
In Mutare, public transport operators are being forced to pay touts who literally ‘own’ the ranks.
Dr Nhanhanga said the harassment of the travelling public by touts should be dealt with decisively.
“Since we are approaching the holiday, we met in Manicaland because of issues relating to touting and all sorts of things that happen in the public transport industry including speeding. Touting is a problem especially to the travelling public, and this menace needs to be dealt with decisively.
“We want to ensure that bus operators take note of the things that we really need to put in order before the peak of the festive season. This includes making sure that we have enough bus drivers and conductors so that our crew do not suffer from fatigue.
“This was the main reason why we met here in Mutare. We need to address the issue of passengers being harassed by touts especially in Harare. Harare being the capital city, we really need to sit down and bring sanity to the passenger pick-up points. By Friday next week, we should be meeting in Harare,” he said.
Dr Nhanhanga urged local authorities to be in charge of passenger pick-up points to get rid of the menacing touts.
“Touts operate independently. These are just people who occupy any vacant space. Remember, the places that we use are council infrastructure. I cannot say much on behalf of local authorities, but I think councils need to take ownership of their spaces, and deploy staff to man their premises so that no one can come and take charge willy-nilly,” he said.
In a separate interview, Mr Tafadzwa Goliath, national coordinator of the Zimbabwe Passenger Association said the sale of alcohol and intoxicating substances at bus termini should stop.
“As the travelling public, we really want to encourage operators to ensure that their drivers get enough time to rest. We have seen accidents that were caused by fatigue on the part of the drivers. This should be discouraged.
“We are also strongly appealing to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to ensure that beer and other intoxicating substances are not sold at bus termini. We have seen drivers buying beer at bus termini, and thereafter get on the steering wheel.
“We also hope that our police shall play their role diligently and in a transparent manner. They should help to ensure that unroadworthy vehicles are not only fined, but are off the road,” he said.
