Some Harare commuters are complaining that the recent move by the Harare City Council to move some commuter buses to the Coventry Road holding bay is worsening their financial plight as operators have doubled fares from 50 cents or five rand to a dollar.
Combined Harare Residents Association chairman, Simbarashe Moyo, said after engaging with the commuter operators they learnt that the move was necessitated by the more time kombis are spending parked at the holding bay instead of making trips.
Early this month the council commissioned the holding bay that can hold more than 700 kombis in an effort to decongest the central business district.
Reached for a comment the commuter operators’ spokesman, Farai Muza, blamed unlicensed kombis for the fare hike saying they are taking advantage of the distance a registered commuter vehicle takes to get into town from Coventry holding bay.
Muza said the registered operators are still charging normal fares depending on the route.
