A yet-to-be-identified Tshova Mubaiwa kombi driver is on the run after his vehicle rammed into the Mpopoma High School precast wall and a fowl run shortly before 8 AM on Thursday.
The kombi, which plies the City-Cowdray Park route, was coming from the city centre with four passengers on board.
A security guard at the school, Patrick Mahachi, told the <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/bulawayo-police-hunt-for-tshova-mubaiwa-kombi-driver-who-fled-after-crashing-into-mpopoma-high-school-wall/">Chronicle</a> that the incident unfolded before his eyes. He said:
<blockquote>
I saw the Kombi flying towards the precast wall and I rushed to the scene and found that one of the four passengers had sustained a broken leg. What surprised me was the speed at which the driver vanished into thin air.
</blockquote>
The spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in Bulawayo Province, Inspector Abednico Ncube said they were investigating the circumstances that led to the driver fleeing the scene. He said:
<blockquote>
We are investigating circumstances leading to an accident involving a Tshova Mubaiwa Kombi today (Thursday).
Our officers are keen to interview the driver of the Kombi who disappeared from the scene of the accident.
He will face negligent driving charges and we appeal to members of the public who may know of his whereabouts to contact any nearest police station.
</blockquote>
Bulawayo chief fire officer Nhlanganiso Moyo said the fire brigade attended the scene and remained on standby until the Kombi was towed away from the site. Said Moyo:
<blockquote>
We attended to a road traffic accident early this morning at 7.40 am where a driver of a commuter omnibus heading towards Luveve lost control, veered off the road and hit a precast wall and a chicken run inside Mpopoma High School.
Five persons were injured and taken to the hospital. Our crew removed the vehicle out of the school taking into account that it could burst into flames.
</blockquote>
The Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Felix Mhona recently told Parliament that the Government was proposing to increase the minimum age from 25 years to 30 years to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities, largely attributed to reckless driving.
In 2023, the government promulgated Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023 which requires public service vehicles, including buses, are required to be fitted with speed-limiting devices to ensure their speeds do not exceed 100 km/h.
This measure was introduced in response to an increase in bus accidents attributed to speeding.
These speed limiters are installed permanently and can work for a lifetime if drivers do not tamper with them.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Tshova Mubaiwa Kombi Driver Flees After Crashing Vehicle Into School Precast Wall

Commuter omnibus operators in Bulawayo have raised their fares, with prices ranging from $600 to $1,000 per trip, depending on the time and distance, prompting some commuters to call for the government to re-ban the kombis. This is up from the previous fare of $500.
Fares are highest during peak hours and when Zupco buses are not available. Commuters feel the operators have not learned their lesson. One angry commuter told the <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/ban-kombis-again-irate-commuters/">Chronicle</a>:
<blockquote>
During the Covid-19 era the Government banned kombis because of among other things, wantonly increasing fares.  Operators should use the official bank-rate. Why are they suddenly increasing fares when they know most of us earn RTGS and fuel prices have remained steady for the past months?
</blockquote>
Mr Ephraim Dube, a resident of Pumula South, expressed outrage at the increased kombi fares, as they now consume most of his salary. He noted that some suburbs still charge normal prices, which is frustrating. He is worried about the upcoming school opening week, as he and his children all study in town and the increased fares will be difficult to afford. He mentioned that one of his children takes two kombi trips per day, making it even more challenging. If he lived closer to town, like in Mpopoma, he would walk and not have to deal with the high fares.
Mrs Elsie Moyo, a commuter from Magwegwe West, accused kombi operators of contributing to inflation. She stated that when they increase their fares, moneychangers also raise their rates. She believes that kombi operators should be monitored and punished for raising their rates in bond currency. Mrs Moyo feels that the operators do this intentionally to force people to pay in foreign currency, as they raise their rates and leave commuters with no other option.
Kombi associations Tshova Mubaiwa and Bupta stated that their local currency charges are based on the prevailing exchange rates. Mr Ndabazabo Mabunda, the marketing director of Tshova Mubaiwa, explained that the fares have not increased, but the rate has changed due to the influence of commuters.
Mabunda claimed that commuters often refuse to accept local currency change, claiming it is too little, so the kombi operators end up charging more to balance their money. He emphasised that the high local rate charges are mainly due to the behaviour of the commuters, as the fares themselves have not been increased. The Bupta administration director, Mr Alfred Ncube, said the association had not increased fares but operators were working with the existing rate of exchange.
The Zimbabwe dollar has been shedding value against other currencies prompting service providers to raise charges and fees. However, there are some service providers who are raising prices in both local and foreign currencies. Kombi operators often raise their fares during holidays such as Easter and Independence due to high demand.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Commuters Urge Government To Re-ban Kombis As Fares Go Up

Private commuter omnibus operators across the country have welcomed a government decision to allow them back on the road following their ban during the height of COVID-19 in 2020.
The ban was decreed by Zimbabwean authorities allegedly to curb the spread of the virus.
According to <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/government-lifts-ban-on-kombis/">Statutory Instrument 213A of 2022</a> promulgated on 21 December 2022, the ban on kombis was been lifted with immediate effect. 
In response to the development, Greater Harare Association of Commuter Omnibuses (GHACO) chairman, Ngoni Katsvairo urged the government to recognise associations as important players in instilling order in the transport sector. Katsvairo told <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/operators-welcome-kombi-ban-lifting-by-government/">ZimLive</a> in an interview on Thursday:
<blockquote>
We’re very grateful to the government for the official lifting of the ban although we had already gotten a reprieve from His Excellency’s 7 May public statement on opening up public transport.
We hope that going forward, associations will be empowered to put more order in the sector.
The ban had opened up avenues for Mishika shika and we now look forward to working together with the government to enforce and ensure the illegal operators are stopped from taking business from those who comply with government laws.
</blockquote>
Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Cooperation marketing director Ndabazazo Mabunda said private commuter omnibus operations were highly affected by the ban.
They were forced to operate under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) franchise, a move which they said was not ideal. ZimLive cites Mabuda as saying:
<blockquote>
We really appreciate the government’s move to lift the ban. We have been going through a tough time but there was no one we could blame because we appreciate that Covid-19 affected a lot of people.
Now that all is normalising, we are starting our operations from ground zero and we want to work tirelessly to make up for the lost time.
</blockquote>
Most <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2021/04/04/over-140k-kombi-workers-lose-jobs-in-harare-ghaco/">kombi drivers and conductors lost their jobs</a> when the government decreed the ban.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Operators Speak On Kombi Ban Lifting

Commuter omnibus operators in Bulawayo, operating under the banner “Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Co-operative Company” have approached the High Court challenging Government’s decision to have their kombis operate under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) franchise.
Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Co-operative Company wants an order reviewing and nullifying the Government’s decision which it says is irrational and an act of illegality and a violation of their constitutional rights.
In his founding affidavit, the chairman of the board of directors of Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Co-operative Company, Atlas Moyo said:
<blockquote>This is an application to review and set aside section 4 (2) (a) of the Public Health (Covid-19) Prevention, Containment and Treatment (National Lockdown) Order of 2020. The section of the regulation reads: ‘transport services, whether intracity or inter-city, for the carriage of passengers, shall be restricted to those provided by the parastatal company known as ZUPCO.
… The applicant submits that it has shown good and sufficient cause for the relief it seeks. In the premises, the application seeks an order declaring section 4 (2) (a) of the Public Health (Covid-19) Prevention, Containment and Treatment (National Lockdown) Order of 2020 as being unlawful, irregular and invalid. Consequently, it should be reviewed and set aside.</blockquote>
Tshova Mubaiwa has been providing intracity transport services for the past 34 years. The organisation has 1 635 kombis registered under its franchise.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/high-court-challenge-for-zupco-monopoly/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chronicle</a></h4>

Tshova Mubaiwa Latest News

Latest Jobs