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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
THEY brave the cold weather every morning to make a beeline for transport to travel to Bulawayo’s city centre aboard few available Zupco buses.

For several hours, they will be standing in meandering queues moving at a slow pace, and often characterised by chaotic scenes, as some will be trying to jump the queue.

The dawn of each day has actually turned into a nightmare for most commuters in Bulawayo as available Zupco buses and kombis are failing to cope with demand. It costs $4 for a single local trip in a Zupco bus.

Commuters are not only exposed to the unfriendly morning weather, but the deadly Covid-19 as the bus stops are characterised by overcrowding.

Bulawayo’s Covid-19 related death toll now stands at 10 after three new deaths were recorded on Thursday. The city has the highest number of cases in the country with 419 cases followed by Harare with 386 cases.

All the 231 new cases in Bulawayo, which has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, were from local transmissions.

Due to the lockdown restrictions, only Zupco buses and kombis are allowed to operate while privately-run commuter omnibuses remain banned. Government recently urged private commuter omnibus operators to register with Zupco in order to resume operations during the lockdown period which started on March 30.

A Chronicle news crew yesterday visited one of the busiest Zupco bus pick-up points in Bulawayo’s western suburbs, a bus stop along Intemba Road in Pumula North, and witnessed a long winding queue.

In a chaotic queue stretching for more than 100 metres, commuters jostled and bickered, brushing shoulders and coming into contact with others in violation of the principle of social distancing.

They wore masks in all shapes, colours and sizes. However, the Chronicle news crew, which was part of the commuters, observed that passengers were only offered hand sanitisers upon boarding with no temperature checks.

There is no strict adherence to measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 as Zupco bus crews are allowing standing passengers in violation of Government regulations. Government last month allowed Zupco buses to carry more passengers under health guidelines. These included use of sanitisers, fumigation and mandatory temperature testing, wearing of masks by passengers with the buses being disinfected and sanitised after every trip.

Transport challenges have been growing as the formal economy joined essential services in being exempted from the lockdown now at Level 2. With companies in the formal sector now all allowed to open, a lot more people need to get to and from work.

Commuters who spoke to Chronicle said they are forced to wake up early in an effort to try and beat the queues. Most commuters said they arrive at the bus stop at 5am and in most cases they spend up to six hours waiting to board a Zupco bus.

Ms Margaret Ncube of Old Pumula said every day she wakes up as early as 4am and walks a distance of about 3km to the bus stop to board a Zupco bus.

“The queues are just unbearable as we spend three to four hours at the bus stop waiting for Zupco buses. I eke out a living through vending, which means I have to wake up daily and go to the market place in town to buy wares for resale here,” she said.

“The challenge we are facing is that Zupco buses are few and this is why we spend several hours in the queues and we are also at risk of infecting each other with Covid-19 since the principle of social distancing is not observed at all.”

Mr Gift Fungurai, who boarded a Zupco bus from Pumula North, together with the Chronicle news crew, said while the position taken by Government was essential to bring immediate relief there was need for authorities to continue importing buses to grow the Zupco fleet.

“There has been an increase in numbers of people travelling to work so if the numbers of buses remain unchanged, people will continue to overcrowd at bus stops. This will defeat the whole purpose of preventing the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

Some of the commuters urged Government to consider re-introducing kombis, although kombi owners can apply to join the Zupco fleet.

Mr Gilbert Siansali, a student at the United College of Education (UCE), said long queues were turning out to be risky for people using Zupco transport to get into town.

“Zupco buses are cheaper compared to boarding lifts as some motorists are now cashing in on high demand for public transport. It might be a rather strenuous process to queue for a Zupco bus, but it is worth it given that private motorists charge between $20 and $30 for a single trip to town,” he said.

“We have no choice but to wait for the Zupco buses every morning. Delaying arriving at college has become a daily norm for some of us who rely on Zupco for transport.”

Mr Bruce Moyo, a regular Zupco commuter, said although he tries to be extra cautious by constantly sanitising his hands and maintaining social distance, his efforts go down the drain the moment he arrives at a bus stop.

Mr Shalima Muzive said some people were now resorting to walking to their intended destinations. He said it would be noble if Government brought back kombis on the roads under strict conditions to monitor observance of social distancing, so that people would not have to stand in crowds waiting for buses thereby risking contracting Covid-19. “Some commuters, especially those staying in suburbs near the CBD, now opt to walk as there are too many people looking for transport yet Zupco buses are too few. Government should continue allowing kombis to resume operations given that Zupco is failing to meet the demand,” he said.

Everyday, the transport blues commuters face defeats the purpose of social distancing which experts believe is key in slowing the spread of Covid-19.

Zupco acting chief executive officer Mr Everisto Madangwa urged members of the public to decongest the transport sector by avoiding unnecessary travel.

He said Zupco is recruiting more commuter omnibuses into its kombi scheme to help increase the fleet on the roads.

Mr Madangwa urged commuters to heed the call to stay at home if they have no essential business to decongest buses and kombis. “There are currently 500 kombis on the scheme countrywide. So, we want to increase that number. We are inviting operators to join Zupco. If they want to be on the road, they must have their papers in order, then they must join Zupco as we are still on level two of the lockdown,” said Mr Madangwa.— @mashnets