Government has, with effect from today, slashed Zimbabwe
United Passenger Company (Zupco) fares by 50 percent, for both urban and rural
trips, a situation that will see local urban travellers paying 50 cents from $1
for a distance within a 20km radius.
A distance of up to 30km has now been pegged at 75 cents
from $1,50 while a distance of up to 40km been reduced to $1 from $2.
The announcement was made by Finance and Economic
Development Minister Secretary, Mr George Guvamatanga in a circular addressed
to his counterpart, Secretary for Local Government, Public Works and National
Housing Mr George Magosvonge in fulfillment of Operation Restore Sanity in the
Urban Centres.
“Please be advised that the Zupco bus fares on Operation
Restore Sanity have been reduced by 50 percent from 21 May 2019. This has been
necessitated by the need to cushion the travelling public,” wrote Mr
Guvamatanga.
In an interview, Mr Guvamatanga said Government was now
pursuing procurement of additional buses to complement those already on the road.
“We expect a consignment of more buses to come next week.
Our expectation is that because of reduced fares there should be increased
demand on the buses. So the focus now is increasing the number of buses
available, for both urban and rural populace, we have actually realised that
transport costs have been a major challenge that the travelling public has been
facing. Not only are we working on increasing the buses, we are also trying to
ensure that there is now a set timetable rather than waiting for 120 passenger
bus to fill up. We are also going to look at ensuring the buses being available
after hours. There will be reduced
coverage but there will still be there into the late hours of the day,” said Mr
Guvamatanga.
He said they were working with a local bank to ensure that
people could make advance payments using electronic system covering longer
periods and would simply draw down against what they would have paid so as to
ensure convenience and efficiency.
Mr Guvamatanga said adequate measures had been made to
ensure smooth supply of fuel.
Mr Guvamatanga said any responsible Government should
provide safety nets to vulnerable members even in the wake of austerity
measures.
“A subsidy is good as long as it is quantified, budgeted
and targeted, and in this particular instance we are targeting the most
vulnerable members of the public and we know exactly how much it is going to
cost and we have budgeted for it. It is very much sustainable,” he said.
“Any responsible Government, even during austerity
measures, should provide safety nets for the vulnerable members of our society.
There is no austerity without social safety net. It will be very irresponsible for Government not to have
social safety nets.”
Mr Guvamatanga noted
that transport costs were some of the factors affecting the most vulnerable in
society, who include civil servants.
The latest intervention dovetails with President
Mnangagwa’s promise last January to cushion workers through non-monetary
incentives and relief actions amid rising cost of living.
Mass public transport system is seen as a panacea to
problems faced by the commuting public which has been held to ransom by
private, deregulated players and Government expects a peak of 3 000 buses at
the rollout of the long awaited framework. Herald
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