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The Herald, March 15, 1991

ZIMBABWE’S largest bus company, Zupco, has crossed a landmark in its history of passenger transportation by introducing bus drivers.

The company has been quietly recruiting women bus drivers for the past few weeks for its fleet of mini and train buses and the 76-seater conventional buses.

“Zupco is a dynamic company and feels that it has not been doing enough towards women’s emancipation. This is our contribution to the Year of the Woman, which is being observed this year,” said Cde Forbes Magadu, chairman of Zupco.

Three women bus drivers have been recruited so far, and one of them has already completed three weeks of training at the company’s Belvedere premises in Harare. The other two are still undergoing training.

Zupco, whose majority shareholding is owned by the State, has a fleet of buses comprising mini and train buses and the 76-seater conventional bus.

The company operates services in all the country’s major urban centres such as Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare. It also operates hauls between urban centres and to growth points.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Women are increasingly showing their resilience and capacity to handle jobs that were considered to be solely for men such as driving trucks and buses. By doing so, they have proved that they are not weaklings as men have perceived them to be for a long time.
• This have shown that women are capable of doing things that men do despite the difference in gender.
• Women are their own liberators and should therefore support each other in pushing the boundaries and changing the narrative.