Thousands of commuters were left stranded in Mutare on Wednesday after drivers of conventional buses operating under the ZUPCO franchise embarked on a go-slow to force the government to increase their daily commission.
A public transport operator in Mutare, who declined to be named told NewsDay that they wanted to be paid at least $15 390 per bus. He said:
We are on a go-slow because of the paltry commission we are being given. Just imagine that we are getting $4 000 per day, while kombis are getting $1 000.
It’s peanuts, in fact, the government is now benefiting because a kombi is cashing about $3 000 per day and if I was doing it alone, I could get much higher.
It seems it is we who are now subsidising our buses. We want the government to pay us at least $15 000 per day.
