Commuter Omnibus operators in Bulawayo have threatened another fare hike citing an increase in operational costs.
The proposed fare hike comes a week after the transport operators effected a 50 percent increase in fares, with a single trip pegged at 75 cents from 50 cents.
Kombi operators who spoke to CITE said their day-to-day operations have been affected by the overpricing of commodities in the country.
“ Kombi fare must increase because currently the spares are so expensive,” said Claudius Ncube, who plies the Mpopoma route
“The price of oil went from 35 dollars to 79 dollars and we used to buy oil filter at four dollars but currently it is priced at 22 dollars.”
In a seperate interview, Happyboy Magutshwa, a commuter omnibus drive said, “ We cant be operating at a loss considering that 75 cents is not enough in this situation.”
The transport operators also noted that they are losing out on business as they spend most of their time in fuel queues.
Fuel queues surfaced soon after the July harmonised elections with government officials saying the shortages were temporary.
However, the situation has persisted with most service stations facing challenges in acquiring fuel due to foreign currency shortages.
