THE Greater Harare Association of Commuter Omnibus Operators (Ghaco) has praised the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s (ZRP) for clamping down on illegal pirate taxis known as mushikashika as it has boosted business for registered operators.
Since the launch of the No to Mushikashika operation early this month, the ZRP has revealed that a total of 6 540 individuals have been arrested for using unauthorised public transport vehicles.
The advent and growth of these mushikashikas have resulted in a decline in commuters using registered operators to move around Harare.
Speaking to NewsDay Business, Ghaco chief executive officer Katsvairo Ngoni said they had been positively impacted as legal public service operators since the clampdown began.
“The operation against illegal pirate taxis operating as public service vehicles has increased our business as legal operators,” he said.
“We applaud the law enforcement agencies (ZRP and Harare City Council) for their combined efforts to rid the city of these parasites to our business.”
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“The operation against illegal operators must be as constant as possible, rather than sporadic. Thus, the operation must be as routine as possible rather than coming as stop-and-start operations,” Ngoni said.
Addressing concerns about transport availability, Ghaco said there is adequate legal transport for all commuters
“The shortage is only for designated pick-up and drop-off points,” Ngoni said.
“We are therefore engaging council to regularise what is currently being termed as mushikashika into legal and designated areas so that even those kombis and buses loading from those areas can do so legally.”
He added: “Remember, these same places now termed illegal ranks have been legal street ranks before and have been operational for the past 12 years as illegal ranks, so what stops them from being regularised now?”
“To further bolster the legitimacy of operations, Ghaco is committed to ensuring that all vehicles and drivers possess the required statutory documentation. This compliance is essential for maintaining public trust and safety in the transport sector,” Ngoni said.
“By ensuring that all our vehicles and drivers have all the necessary statutory papers that are required for them to be on the road, we are encouraging our operators to ensure all our public service vehicles are roadworthy and have passenger and vehicle insurance as a prerequisite for operating on our roads.”