Commuter omnibuses (kombis) operating in the country’s major cities risk pricing themselves out of business after the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company increased its fleet of buses.
Not only did the parastatal increase the number of buses on the road, but it also slashed bus fares by 50%.
Kombi operators are now in the habit of negotiating with prospective passengers as they compete with cheap ZUPCO buses.
H-Metro carried out a survey in the capital Harare on Wednesday and found out that commuters prefer ZUPCO buses over kombis.
A commuter who spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity had this to say:
The problem with Kombis is that they hike fares every time and their prices are always fluctuating.
Inasmuch as they want to earn a living from this, their exorbitant prices are not reasonable.
Now they want to negotiate with us because the government has slashed the Zupco fares, it doesn’t work that way.
Unonzwa hwindi woti mukoma mune marii titaurinane.
If they keep on hiking fares, vachashaya vanhu.
The challenges facing kombi operators were worsened by the government’s decision to raise the price of diesel and petrol by over 50% on Tuesday.