Fewer people than usual travelled from the city to rural areas this Easter holiday if the quietness at the usually bustling Mbare Musika long distance bus terminus is anything to go by.
BY TARISAI MANDIZHA
A snap survey in Harare and a visit to Mbare Musika by The Standard yesterday showed that the number of people travelling this holiday was far less than usual. Instead of the hundreds of travellers that normally crowd the bus terminus, vendors were the most common sight. They too were struggling to sell their many wares to the few travellers on the buses.
Usually many people take advantage of the long holiday to travel to their rural areas to spend time with relatives and friends.
A long distance bus driver Collins Mageza confirmed that business was low.
“This year’s Easter holiday is very different from last year because not many people are travelling. But yesterday was a bit better although still the volumes of people was not as expected,” he said.
Another driver said they were spending many hours trying to fill their buses with passengers and in some cases they had to slash bus fares to attract customers as competition was stiff.
“We have been here since morning and unlike yesterday when by this time the bus was almost full, we have had to reduce fares to $12 from $19, but still it is hard to get customers,” said another driver plying the Harare-Chiredzi route.
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Most people, including the few travellers and bus crews, said the main reason for the low activity at Mbare Musika was the fact that people did not have money to travel.
Otilia Mashanda, a passenger who was travelling to Gutu, complained that bus operators were overcharging travellers. Mashanda said buses were charging $8 to travel to Gutu instead of the usual $6.
“Currently people have no money to spend and also the buses are very expensive,” she said.
A conductor of a bus plying the Harare-Centenary route, Ernest Makwiramiti said: “We are now actually viewing the holiday as being over and we are now focusing on raising money for next term’s school fees.”
Gift Chabarika said he would have wanted to travel with his family to Shurugwi to be with his elderly mother during this holiday, but the financial hardships caused by the prevailing debilitating economic environment would not allow that.
“I have never spent such a holiday in town but for the first time I have been forced to. Things are hard and even getting money for fuel to drive to the rural areas is now a mammoth task. We will have to make other arrangements to take the children to see their grandmother in the rural areas. This time we are in a real financial fix,” said Chabarika.
