THE Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) will take delivery of 100 new buses next month to add to its 800-strong fleet, as Government heightens efforts to address transport challenges and modernise the country’s public transport system.
Engineers at the company have also begun refurbishing
decommissioned buses to add to its rural routes, with 20 such buses having been
brought back on the road this year.
Cabinet last week “resolved to support the urgent
procurement or hire of an additional 667 buses to enable Zupco to provide a
more efficient service to all high-density suburbs”.
Negotiations between local vehicle assembly companies and a
Belarusian supplier of bus knock-down kits are reportedly advanced.
The Sunday Mail understands that the assembly of buses
locally is set to begin before year-end when negotiations are concluded.
Zupco requires 2 000 buses to run an efficient mass
transport system. Currently, the transport utility owns 262 buses, while the
rest are operated through its franchise system.
In an interview, Zupco chief executive officer Mr Evaristo
Madangwa said demand for public transport was increasing.
“We are expecting, in the next four to five weeks, delivery
of an additional 100 buses,” said Mr Madangwa. We are currently operating on a
fleet of between 750 to 800 buses, and most of them are on franchise.
“Zupco needs at least 2 000 buses for it to efficiently
work. Our engineering team is also on course, resuscitating our old all-terrain
buses and we have already introduced some in the system.”
He said the all-terrain buses will be deployed to rural
areas because they are better suited to travelling on gravel roads. Private bus
operators plying rural routes do not need to join our franchise system; this is
meant for urban operations only.”
Plans to procure bus knock-down kits for local assembly, Mr
Madangwa added, were advanced.
“We are still working out on the modalities of bringing in
knock-down kits for local assembly and it was still work in progress.”
Responding to questions in Parliament recently, Local
Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said plans to import the
knock-down kits from Belarus had reached an advanced stage.
Local bus assembly companies had already signed
non-disclosure agreements with a Belarusian supplier.
“The Government has plans to facilitate the assembling of
buses locally and has engaged partners as initiated through the bilateral
agreements in the case of one bus assembling plant,” said Minister Moyo.
“They have already gone into a non-disclosure agreement
with a Belarusian company so that the knock-down kits that come from Belarus
can be assembled here in Harare.”
Assembling of buses locally is also expected to create
employment and business for local suppliers.
“The last time we were doing it, we were using local
materials of up to 40 percent, that means we can increase the number of buses
or knock-down kits that we bring from a country instead of bringing a
completely built-up bus.
“Negotiations with these partners are, however, still to be
concluded. “The buses that are being manufactured and assembled in Zimbabwe
have specifications that make them suitable for all-terrain, and with the
negotiations that we have done, we are ensuring that those buses can actually
ply rural roads.”
Government, he added, expects the negotiations to be
completed before year-end, while assembling is also earmarked to commence this
year as well.
The last batch of Zupco buses imported into the country was
commissioned by President Mnangagwa on March 12.
The company also plans to revive traditional bus routes,
using designated bus stops and improving its electronic payment system. Sunday
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