In a statement, Zinara announced that with effect from
Monday (May 23), toll fees for light motor vehicles would increase to $520 from
$300, minibuses $780 from $450, buses $1 040 and heavy vehicles $1 300.
The new toll fee increases will result in motorists driving
light vehicles from Bulawayo to Harare forking out $2 600 at five tollgates.
Zinara said there would be a residential discount for
motorists who live near a tollgate, who frequently pass through such
facilities.
Reacting to the toll fee increases, motorists yesterday
told NewsDay that the fees were unjustified, given the poor state of the
country’s roads and the current liquidity crunch.
Some said they would be forced to use alternative routes to
dodge tollgates.
“Using illegal alternative routes will save money,
especially along the Bulawayo-Harare route where transporters have to pass
through five tollgates. Passengers often negotiate fees and the only way to
save money is to evade tollgates,” one long-distance driver said.
Motorist Lyod Moyo said: “Fuel is already very expensive,
and now Zinara has hiked tollgate fees, for some passenger transporters trying
to make a living, that is not fair. This will force a lot of motorists to find
alternative routes.”
Passengers Association of Zimbabwe president Tafadzwa
Goliath said: “Motorists are already facing high fuel costs and now they have
another burden added by Zinara. Using alternative routes to avoid paying toll
fees will cause more road accidents on the country’s highways because of the
poor road network.
“Why don’t we have a fixed USD price that won’t change,
because charging in Zimdollars is not stable? Imagine the amount of money that
one has to pay for travelling from Harare to Bulawayo passing through five
tollgates.”
In 2009, government introduced tollgates as part of
measures to raise funds to construct and rehabilitate roads. Newsday
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