Zimbabwe’s government-owned ZUPCO buses are currently failing to access number plates which enable the vehicles to start operating in the country; a letter from the Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure Development, Eng Chinyanga that was seen by Enthuse Magazine has revealed.
This comes out after the government imported 50 new buses from China to end transport woes affecting commuters around Zimbabwe.
Fears are that the ZUPCO crew may be notorious if they use buses which cannot be identified due to lack of number plates.
Chinyanga in the letter says, “As you may be aware, the country is experiencing a shortage of number plates which inadvertently contribute to ZUPCO’s failure to access number plates for their buses.”
Government has imported more than 400 buses to boost the ZUPCO fleet in the past 12 months, but commuters especially in urban areas continue facing transport challenges.
Transport woes have been worsening since the government banned com is and directed the private vehicles to register with ZUPCO to continue operating.
With transport challenges persisting in urban areas, com utters are opting to using private transport some of which has been illegalized by the government.
Illegal transport operators risk their vehicles being impounded by authorities whilst the passengers face a ZWL$2000 fine (almost equivalent to US$20 on the black market).
Road congestion has also aided more to the transport woes commuters are experiencing.
ZUPCO has partnered with the government owned rail network NRZ to ferry commuters traveling to and from the Harare CBD.
Chinyanga raised the optimism that the scenario will change before the end of the year with the improved availability of number plates.
“That development will enable ZUPCO to procure adequate number plates for their buses,” he said.
