Kombi Fares Hike As Fuel Crises Bites

As the Zimbabwean economic crises deepen, Commuter omnibus operators have hiked fares again citing fuel shortages bedeviling the transport business.

Commuters who could not project the fuel drought were out of business yesterday.

A kombi driver who plies the Chitungwiza-Harare route told the Daily News that:

There is no diesel, at the few service stations where it is available, one can spend the entire night in the queue and still not get a full tank, which is enough to carry passengers for the better part of the day.

We are turning to the black market where it is very expensive. We have to raise the fares for us to make a profit. Otherwise we would be working all day without getting anything.

As of yesterday, kombis were charging $2 for routes which used to cost a $1. Some commuters have resultantly resorted to going home late when commuters usually lower their fares.

NewsDay reports that a few service stations had fuel yesterday which as a result caused long meandering queues.

Minister of Energy, Joram Gumbo attributed the crisis to the scarcity of foreign currency. Gumbo said enough fuel was in the country but companies could not purchase it without foreign currency.

-DailyNews