{"id":37178,"date":"2023-01-09T17:18:52","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers"},"modified":"2023-01-09T19:11:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T19:11:16","slug":"overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","title":{"rendered":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable transport and the tendency of bus drivers to overcharge during peak periods.<\/p>\n

When New Era visited the Okatana service station in Oshakati early yesterday, some people who could not get transport on Saturday afternoon had to overnight there.<\/p>\n

Maria Shikongo from Ohalushu said although they were sleeping there, there was a chance of being left behind again as drivers are only taking those they personally know, or those who give them a tip of N$100 or N$200.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of us who don\u2019t have enough, we will be late for work. I have learned a lesson. Next time, I will go back as soon as possible,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, other travellers who could not afford the new prices were waiting for good Samaritans with a fair price to offer them a lift. \u201cWe do not know how the bus drivers expect us not to have luggage. Some of us have been home for more than a month, and we came with children. The prices are just too much,\u201d said Toini Martin, a traveller who was looking for a lift to Windhoek.<\/p>\n

Another concern raised by the travellers is that bus drivers are taking two trips in a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are only concerned about the money they can make from this busy time. They are not really concerned about the lives they are carrying. Some of these buses are being driven to Windhoek and back to the north the same day.<\/p>\n

What time do they really get to rest properly?\u201d queried concerned commuter Thomas Shilongo.<\/p>\n

The national executive committee of the Namibian Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta) has appealed to long-distance drivers not to overcharge passengers returning from the north after the festive season, but to use Nabta rates. Nabta secretary general Pendapala Nakathingo said prices approved by the Namibian government are N$330 to Windhoek, and N$380 to Walvis Bay from the north. \u201cWe understand the business is in demand, and this comes once in a while. But let\u2019s keep it affordable. Those who have enough money are causing others to be stranded because they are offering a lot of money to be taken first, which is not right,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

He said \u2018overcharging\u2019 of passengers is not necessary. Not all the people can afford additional costs, as some are children being sent to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of transport is a challenge, but I urge drivers to take it easy. It is time to make business, but they must keep it as it is,\u201d he added. Nakathingo thanked those who left early to avoid being stranded and late for work and school. He also praised some drivers for driving safely during the festive season, saying they should continue with that behaviour. Some bus drivers said although the prices have increased slightly over the festive season, they have also been taking people to various places at negotiated prices.<\/p>\n

A long-time bus driver, Amini Samuel, said their biggest challenge is the fact that at most times, their buses have to drive from Windhoek to the north almost empty. This is because during January, the demand for transport is from the north to Windhoek, and fewer people travel to the north.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis becomes a loss to the bus owner as his bus travels empty from Windhoek. In order to address this loss, we try to negotiate with the commuters by charging an extra N$50 per person before they board the buses,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said most of the commuters would agree to these arrangements due to the shortage of transport. \u201cBut once they are on the bus, they would call the police and report us for overcharging them,\u201d Samuel complained.<\/p>\n

Another bus driver, who did not want to give his name, said this is the time they have to make money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t force people to board our buses, and we merely negotiate a slightly higher fee as we have a cost to cover due to mainly the empty trips from Windhoek to pick up the stranded northerners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Commuters should thus understand and be informed that during the January rush, they have losses that must be covered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not that we want to make extra money and want to get rich quickly. These buses need to run non-stop to pick up the stranded people here. This increases the cost of maintenance, the cost to replace tyres, the cost of overtime for drivers,\u201d said this<\/p>\n

driver.<\/p>\n

At the beginning and end of every festive season, Namibian commuters are always found stranded at bus terminals either in the northern parts of the country or in Windhoek because of the shortage of long-distance buses and the absence of reliable train services to those parts of the country.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable transport and the tendency of bus drivers to overcharge during peak periods. When New Era visited the Okatana service station in Oshakati early yesterday, some people who could not get transport on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":37177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-37178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nOvercharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\"},\"wordCount\":827,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\",\"name\":\"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers - Namibia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":505,\"caption\":\"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\",\"name\":\"Namibia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers - Namibia","description":"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers","og_description":"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","og_site_name":"Namibia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":505,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers","datePublished":"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers"},"wordCount":827,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg","keywords":["africa press","Africa Press-Namibia","namibia"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers","name":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers - Namibia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg","datePublished":"2023-01-09T17:18:52+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-09T19:11:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The post-festive season rush from the north to Windhoek and the coast has left many bemoaning the lack of affordable tra ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673278630.32.jpg","width":720,"height":505,"caption":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/overcharging-causes-chaos-for-stranded-northern-travellers#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Overcharging causes chaos for stranded northern travellers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/","name":"Namibia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}