Bus operators have challenged the City of Bulawayo to provide alternative ranking sites for them, as the local authority prepares to remove illegal transport operators who are causing chaos and disorder in the Central Business District (CBD).
There has been a significant influx of both intercity and cross-border bus operators who openly tout and compete for passengers across the city.
Some of these buses park in undesignated areas thereby violating the city by-laws.
At a consultative meeting with bus operators on Monday at the Tower Block, Bulawayo City Council (BCC) officials pleaded with operators to follow city by-laws, and stay within their allotted ranks or parking bays.
Bulawayo Director of Town Planning, Wisdom Siziba, bemoaned the deterioration of the city caused by these transport companies’ violations of bylaws.
“Look at what is happening next to Eveline High School and Centenary Park meant for leisure has been turned into a rank yet we have a designated ranking facility,” he said, pointing out other congested unlawful bus ranks such as ‘emaGumtree’ along Harare Road and on Fife Street, between 6th Avenue and Leopold Takawira.
“There is a lot of chaos. This is not the Bulawayo we want and this is now uncomfortable because there are no ablution facilities at these places. We can’t go to the park to enjoy as it has been turned into a toilet.”
Siziba stated the BCC’s responsibility was to create an enabling environment through policies and suggested that luxury coaches partner with hotels to pick up clients because they had waiting areas and restrooms.
He also stated that BCC was building a travel centre on 15th Avenue, not far from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), where passengers could be picked up.
“We are negotiating with NRZ so that some luxury buses go there but negotiations are still at their initial stages,” Siziba said.
“Buses with one bay must adhere to their timetables but now you find one bay has six buses all touting at once. One company must deploy one bus at a time not to have five buses going after 76 passengers.”
Siziba said luxury buses travelling to South Africa and Botswana are expected to run properly and not to tout, whilst buses travelling to Harare must use Renkini and use established bus routes to move throughout the city.
“Buses going to Plumtree buses rank at Nkulumane country bus terminus and those going to Victoria Falls rank at Entumbane country bus terminus,” he noted.
Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Sibanda-Mzingwane, added the chaos brought about by transport operators in the CBD contributed to sentiments that BCC was failing to deliver services.
“Three factors show there is no service delivery in a city and these are litter, state of roads and availability of safe water. But there are fewer cats and dogs found in the streets than people who can be taught not to litter. When people see litter, they say, ‘council is not working.’ We don’t want you as a sector to contribute to the sentiment that council is not working,” he said.
Bus operators, on the other hand, urged BCC to construct more ranks and keep up with the trends, stressing that ranks such as Renkini cannot accommodate all the buses.
Brian Munemo, Branch Manager for Eagleliner, also representing the Coach and Bus Operators Association, noted there was no ranking facility for cross-border operators as ranks were assigned to individual operators.
