The Sunday News
Sunday News Reporter
COWDRAY Park residents are crying foul over the fluctuating transport costs that have been going on for a while during peak hours, which has seen commuters paying as much as US$1 for a one-way trip.
Some commuter omnibus drivers reportedly change prices from the usual price of 10 rand to US$1 during peak hours, which usually affects those going or coming from work or school. Cowdray Park Councillor Kidwell Mujuru acknowledged the issue revealing that he had on numerous occasions tried to engage the kombis and their associations in a bid to resolve the matter.
“I am aware of the situation as residents have brought it up and have been raising concerns. What I have observed is that most of the kombis that charge these fares are those that are operating illegally and do not fall under any association.
“I recently engaged the legally registered associations like Tshova Mubaiwa and they had promised to look into the issue but it still seems there is no movement, in the meantime residents continue to suffer at the hands of these unscrupulous operators,” said Clr Mujuru.
One of the residents, who identified herself as Miss Buyisile Ndebele said they were at the mercy of kombi operators.
“It is very confusing to us as passengers as one minute the prices are normal and the next minute they are being hiked, at times it can happen when you have already boarded the kombi. It is not like fuel prices have gone up and they are failing to recoup their profits, so the question is why then are they changing transport fares whenever they feel like it?” said Miss Ndebele.
The residents further revealed that kombi operators, in a bid to force the public to board their vehicles, bar and harass private cars from picking up desperate commuters who would not be in a position to afford the US$1 fare.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity said they have been getting to work late waiting for the fares to go down.
“Our salaries do not permit us to use that much money, we have school fees to pay, rentals, taxes and for us to feed our families there is a need for money. We try by all means to budget for transport but kombi drivers are now demanding more than we can afford,” said the resident.
