Rains, festive season a jackpot for mushikashika

Oscar J Jeke

In a twist to the natural belief of the festive month that has farmers busy as it signals the start of the rainy season, the advantages of this season have been seized by the mushikashika and mahwindi crews, who inflate commuter fares at the sight of the slightest showers.

Speaking to Zim Now on the gifts of this time of the season, one tout, Evans “Vans” from Mabvuku, reiterated that the rains are a blessing in disguise to the transport business, together with the festive season as it presents them with an opportunity to cash in big.

“This time of the year is a good hunt for us, our daily targets increase in these times, its already Christmas and people get into town a lot and with the rain, business is good we get more than we normally get,” Evans said.

Bernard, who plies the City-Mabvuku route with his Toyota Wish, running from Eastgate Building at the corner of Robert Mugabe Road and Sam Nujoma Street, also claimed that the benefits that the rains festive season rewarded them handsomely, affording them the courage to continue their cat and mouse games with the police.

However, the public decried the exorbitant and unacceptable fare increases that they said were daylight robbery.

Patrick Mukuyu of Ruwa on the eastern fringes of Harare lamented the fare hikes, adding: “commuter operators are bringing more misery to the already struggling general public who face a tough time to get by”.

The mushikashika operators charge a hundred percent of the usual fares on normal sunny days, which has attracted condemnation from passenger associations who feel public transporters have let them down.

Passengers Association of Zimbabwe president, Tafadzwa Goliati expressed anger over mushikashika and their antics, especially on overcharging commuters, noting that the rains should not disadvantage the commuters rather they should rejoice as it offers prospects of good harvests and fortunes.

“We have noticed fare hikes and we had not expected such trends, there are Kombis and private vehicles operating at Julius Nyerere, Chinhoyi, Harare Street, along Robert Mugabe Road that have been charging US$1.50 up to as much as US$3 per trip per person when it is raining.

“The demand for transport is high which has been caused by few public transport operators, resulting in pirate taxis taking advantage of the demand by overcharging vulnerable commuters,” said Goliati in an interview with Zim Now.

“We appeal to the Ministry of Transport and other stakeholders to work on ensuring an efficient public transport system that does not leave commuters at the mercy of mushikashika,” Goliati added.