Pirate taxis give police hard time
By Loveness Bepete
POLICE in Bulawayo face an uphill task in the war against pirate taxis as there are more than 750 pirate taxis against about 835 registered taxis, Bulawayo United Public Transporters Association (Bupta) secretary general Albert Ncube has said.
He said scores of unregistered transporters illegally pick up passengers at places that include TM Hyper, Robert Mugabe Way, Joshua Mqabuko Street, Leopold Takawira Avenue and 6th Avenue.
Ncube said the pirates steal business from registered operators who wait for passengers at designated points, mainly on the outskirts of the city. He called on the government to tighten laws that regulate public transport to include custodial sentences and impounding pirate taxis.
“These people are making so much money they don’t have a problem with paying fines that range between $10 and $20. In the eastern suburbs, registered operators have literally been pushed out of most routes by pirates,” he said.
Ncube said the Matopos route has around 300 pirate taxis operating after pushing out registered operators.
“Imagine, unregistered operators make 10 to 15 trips a day compared to registered operators who make only three trips. Pirates have the advantage of picking passengers right in the city centre where we’re not allowed by law. The police have to be serious about attending to this problem because pirate taxis are multiplying by the day in Bulawayo,” said Ncube.
He said the National University of Science and Technology and Sunninghill route has no registered commuter omnibus operating because there are more than 100 pirates.
“Pirates have elbowed out registered transporters along that route and what’s shocking is that some registered operators have abandoned their designated parking areas and joined piracy which is pathetic,” said Ncube.
He said it seemed government was punishing those who decided to follow the law as they paid more than $500 every year to operate while pirates who paid nothing were being allowed.
“We pay $89 for route approval, $75 for the permit and $150 to Zimra and another $150 for Passenger Insurance. We also pay not less than $200 for fitness test. All this money goes to the government or local authorities to develop road infrastructure for all citizens. Pirates do not pay anything but they get the lion’s share of the business,” said Ncube.
He said police still had a long way to go in eradicating piracy on the road.
Ncube said unregistered vehicles in the city were now in the habit of covering their registration plates with cardboard boxes or alternatively use old outdated number plates to evade arrest.
Efforts to get comment from the Officer Commanding Traffic in Bulawayo Superintendent Maxwell Chikunguru were fruitless. The Chronicle
