The new kombi limits, which reduce the radius of the permits from the existing 120 km to 60 km and mandate that all of them be equipped with speed limiters and monitoring systems, have been well received by drivers and operators of public service vehicles.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development announced in a statement on Tuesday that they had reduced the radius after carefully examining the existing radius-based kombi restrictions.
Some, though, have expressed worries that it may encourage corruption on the highways.
With the police currently equipped to enforce stringent adherence, it is anticipated that the new limitations will ensure that drivers’ speeds are reduced and, as a result, save lives.
According to a representative of the Greater Harare Association for Commuter Omnibus Operators (GHACO), the government must effectively implement the legislation that have been established.
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“While more laws are put in place for the formal public service vehicles (buses or kombis) they need to be complemented with effective enforcement on mushikashika and pirate taxis,” the official said.
“If you check the operations happening in Harare CBD there are a lot of mushikashika and pirates which are operating illegally freely while legal kombis operating from designated ranks are detained for up to seven days for minor offences.
“There is need for enforcement to encourage compliance and order on our roads.”
According to Fradreck Maguramhinga, head of ZUDCO COMMUTER SERVICES Association, the new policy will encourage corruption on the highways.
“The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe and Police produced a report that was given to the United Nations, and it was very evident that buses were the primary cause of most accidents in the nation,” he said.
“Some bus operators are currently lying to the government in order to get us taken off the roads so they can have a monopoly on the highways.
“We even know who these bus operators are, soon we are going to start naming them because this has been going on for so long, they want to create oligopolies.
“As Kombi operator associations we are doing very well when it comes to road safety, we are going to try and talk to Government so that they get a clearer understanding of what happens on the ground.”
Maguramhinga said preference must not be given to pirate taxis(mushika-shika) as they cause more harm than good.
“We have pirate taxis being allowed to do intercity travels because they are illegal and more dangerous, they are also contributing to the accidents that are happening on our road,” he said.
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