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WITH a fleet of over 600 kombis, Bulawayo’s oldest commuter omnibus association, Tshova Mubaiwa, is leading efforts to decongest the city centre.

They operate a depot in the Belmont industrial area where their vehicles are parked during the day, with only a limited number allowed at the TM/Pick and Pay taxi rank. Kombis temporarily park at the TM/Pick and Pay taxi rank only to pick up passengers heading to various destinations such as Nketa, Nkulumane, Emganwini, Pumula, Magwegwe, and Luveve suburbs, among other routes.

The taxi association runs a smooth operation that offers value for money to passengers, providing reliable and safe services. They implement several initiatives, such as banning drinking and smoking for kombi crews during working hours and enforcing a strict dress code that prohibits drivers and conductors from wearing vests and shorts.

Picking up and dropping off passengers in undesignated areas is also strictly prohibited. According to the city’s transport policy, associations recognised by the Bulawayo City Council include the Bulawayo Urban Passenger Transport Association (BUPTA), Tshova-Mubaiwa, City Transit, and the newly formed Vuka Uzimele Transport Association (VUTA).

The policy requires all kombi owners to belong to an association, enabling the BCC to approach the associations when players start operating illegally and making them easily traceable in case they commit offences.

“Our taxi rank can only accommodate a limited number of kombis at a time, so the rest park at our Belmont depot and are only driven into the city centre when called by our marshals. It’s a working arrangement that helps us decongest the city centre.

“During peak hours, only kombis picking up passengers are allowed in the taxi rank. One can imagine the chaos if all 600-plus of them were to park randomly on street corners in the city centre,” said Tshova Mubaiwa’s route overseer, Elisha Taurai.

The kombis depot in Belmont has a car wash where crews can get their vehicles cleaned as part of the association’s effort to ensure passengers are ferried in clean kombis.“The city council penalises anyone who gets their vehicles washed in undesignated areas, so we cannot have our kombis washed in illegal street corners and parking bays in the city centre.

“Our kombis also have litter baskets to encourage passengers not to throw litter through windows,” Taurai added. Every night, paid volunteers sweep the TM/Pick and Pay taxi rank to keep the place clean. Tshova Mubaiwa enforces a strict dress code that prohibits the wearing of vests and shorts by kombi crews and maintains a zero-tolerance policy on smoking and drinking by drivers, conductors, and rank marshals while on duty.

“A drunk driver or conductor will not treat passengers’ right, so drinking or smoking while at work is a dismissible offence at Tshova Mubaiwa. When a kombi owner wants to hire a driver, administrators at the office must first check to see if that driver wasn’t fired from the association before or is not under suspension so that we don’t keep recycling the same people we got rid of for transgressions in the past,” Taurai explained.

All Tshova Mubaiwa kombis have a unique number inscribed at the front and back to make it easier for passengers to report a vehicle whose crew treated them poorly or when they lose their belongings.

“For example, it is easier for a passenger to remember the number 438B instead of the registration number of a vehicle. When they make a complaint, we know which kombi is being referred to and who was driving it. Our offices are open to anyone who wants to register a complaint against our kombi crews, and we will ensure their case is dealt with swiftly,” he said. – Chronicle