The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
GREYHOUND long-distance luxury passenger bus carrier, which in February announced a decision to stop operations, has officially notified the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) of its decision to cancel the lease of a luxury coach loading bay in the city.
Greyhound, a South Africa based company has been plying several domestic and regional routes including the Zimbabwe- South Africa one, for the past 37 years.
In February the company announced that it will be shutting down operations citing viability challenges emanating from a prolonged lockdown that has resulted in a decline in travel.
According to the latest council report the company notified council over the decision, thanking the local authority for the support rendered over the years. The loading bay was located opposite the company’s offices along George Silundika Street between Leopold Takawira Avenue and 6th Avenue.
“A decision has been taken to close the Greyhound business unit with effect from 15 February 2021. Greyhound has been providing passengers with intercity coach travel in Southern Africa since 1984. The closure of Greyhound has come about due to operating in a declining market for a number of years due to passenger numbers reducing as well as a lack of regulation surrounding inter-provincial travel. During the coming months we will start the process of bringing all accounts up to date with suppliers and sales agents. We would like to thank you for your support over the last 37 years and wish you all the best for the future,” reads part of the letter sent to BCC.
Greyhound’s routes covered all parts of South Africa including carrying cross-border passengers to Zimbabwe as well as Mozambique on a daily basis. The services were suspended following the closure of borders by Zimbabwe and South Africa as part of lockdowns regulations to curb the spread of Covid-19.
