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Oliver Kazunga Senior Reporter
A LEADING South African luxury coach operator, Intercape, has merged with a local firm Pathfinder, a partnership that will see the new brand serving more local and regional routes.

The new company is expected to start operating next month.

A senior official from Pathfinder who requested anonymity told The Chronicle yesterday that preparations were in progress to introduce the new company on the domestic market.

“It’s not that Intercape has bought Pathfinder but this is a joint venture that the two companies have entered. We’re still working on one or two issues before we start operating in the next few weeks,” said the official.

The company will ply the Johannesburg-Bulawayo-Harare, Johannesburg-Harare and Johannesburg-Victoria Falls routes. It will also serve the Harare-Mutare route with double deck and single deck coaches branded Intercape Pathfinder in Intercape colours.

The company has already posted images of the new-look Intercape Pathfinder coaches in white, yellow, red and purple colours on its official Facebook wall bearing the two names. They also posted a notice indicating the firm is looking for additional coach operators and drivers with an enticing salary of up to R13,000.

As of yesterday, fares for the routes were not yet available with booking agents saying they were yet to be logged into the ticketing system.

Last October Intercape announced the suspension of its cross-border routes between Johannesburg and Lusaka/Kitwe as well as the closure of its operations in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola.

It said the cross border routes were suspended as the coach operator was unable to sustain the services due to the high cost of operations and the weak commercial performance of the routes.