By Own Correspondent- Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (Paz) has expressed concern over the recent increases of public transport fares arguing that the development has greatly inconvenienced commuters.

President of the association, Tafadzwa Goliath lamented the commuter fare hikes adding that it forced commuters to use unsafe transport methods such as overloaded open trucks.

Said Goliati:

The commuting public is being forced to use other forms of transport such as open trucks, which will be overloaded.

In many instances, school children end up sitting on each other’s laps in order to cut down on the amount of commuter omnibus fares that they will be paying.

In addition, many people are getting home as late as 10pm because of shortage of commuter omnibuses. This affects children, mothers and some people who live in areas where it’s not safe to walk during late hours. The mass transportation system introduced by the government is inadequate and most people still depend on commuter omnibuses (kombis) for daily commuting to work or school.

We recommend that the Government of Zimbabwe should prioritise and allocate fuel to commuter omnibuses who are in associations, for the convenience of the commuting public.