By Own Correspondent| Long distance buses plying rural routes have reduced their fares following the reduced number of travellers post christmas.
The buses, which cashed in on the Christmas holiday travellers attributed the reduction of fares to an improvement in the allocation of fuel to public transport operators by Government.
Public transport operators hiked bus fares by more than 100 percent ahead of Christmas Day citing fuel challenges.
A survey at Mbare Musika bus terminus and Mbudzi roundabout Friday by the State Media revealed that bus fares had gone down drastically.
A trip from Harare to Murombedzi (about 110km), which had been pegged at $15 last weekend, is now $6.
Harare-Gokwe fares have been reduced from $45 to $15. Those travelling from Harare to Masvingo are now parting with $15 instead of the $35 charged at the height of the christmas rush.
In separate interviews, bus drivers said the fares would remain stable if Government continued providing them with diesel.
“At times we get fuel from the Government, so we maintain our fares. Our company gets 2 000 litres of fuel from the Government and it lasts two days. We have 13 buses,” said Mr Shelton Nyanhete from Gold Heritage Bus Service.
He said fare hikes were necessitated by the unavailability of diesel at fuel stations which forced them to resort to the black market.-StateMedia