THE community of Chisambiro in Mutoko, in Mashonaland East Province, is grateful to Zupco for providing a good service with its buses. NYAMADZI TAWENGWA

The route from Harare is almost 260km and it has always suffered the scarcity of public transport because of poor roads and terrain. At one time there were virtually no buses plying the route. People were ferried by lorries  to Mutoko centre, before  getting buses to Harare. It was a torrid time for the Chisambiro Community.

Several bus operators serviced the route briefly, but they did not last. People were forced to walk for distances up to 20km before they could get transport to Harare or Mutoko centre.

One man, popularly known as  Bhonzo, who used to work for a bus company that used to service the route, is now employed by Zupco   and had great influence in the introduction of Zupco buses on this route.

With reasonable fares the Harare-Chisambiro route is being  well served by Zupco since August last year.  Despite the roads, the bus company has shown reliability and commitment.

The courteous, honest and caring bus drivers have become popular in the community and they know all bus stations well. This allows relatives in Harare and other areas to send parcels via the buses.

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Bhonzo said, “I feel comfortable plying the route.  The Chisambiro community is so good  to work with.  They are humble people.

Whenever there is a breakdown, they bring  us food.  They assist where possible.  At one time when our bus was stuck in the mud, they brought  yoked oxen to pull us out.

Tanene Chabata, a general dealer at Chisambiro shops  said,  “My business has drastically improved. I  purchase my groceries and scuds (opaque beer) In two days’ time  because the buses are servicing the routes daily.  I am always with enough stock unlike before.  I used to hire an ox-drawn cart for the collection of my  orders  at Makaha Business Centre  which is 20km away.  With the coming in of Zupco,  I  have been relieved a lot.”

Departing at Mbare Musika  around 9am,  by around  3pm, the bus  would  be at  Chisambiro  Centre.  It is this adherence to timetables that the community loves as it makes their travel plans easy. Buses plying the route previously   used to reach the destination by midnight.  People used to sleep at the shops because they were afraid of hyenas in the area. They would not risk travelling at night after disembarking from the buses.

Simbai  Nyamadzi, who is a resident of Chisambiro community and works at Mutoko General  Hospital, said, “I am now reporting for work daily  coming from home.  Zupco buses are punctual.  I start work  at  08:00am.  The buses  pass by  my homestead  at Mapona  around 6:15am.  They reach Mutoko Centre in time.  I am now  enjoying  seeing  my family on a daily basis.”

Pregnant women within the community used to walk distances of up to 20km to Kapondoro  Clinic which is the nearest  health facilty for their  medical checkups. Zupco has since changed that. Wendy Kasine, who is pregnant, said, “It’s now easy  for me  travelling  to Kapondoro  Clinic  for checkup.  I board the Zupco  bus  in the morning and get attended to.  By 1pm I  will  wait  for the  other Zupco  bus coming from Harare and I get back home in time.  The distance is too long to walk. Thumps up to Zupco, it has reduced the burden of walking.”

Patrick  Kamungeremu, a resident in the Chisambiro community said, “Zupco is the best service provider compared to other service providers which used to operate  in this route.  A day before Christmas, I arrived at Mbare Musika thinking  I was not going to find a bus to my rural area in Chisambiro,  but  I was  pleasantly surprised  to see four  Zupco buses waiting to ferry people  to  Chisambiro. There was no pushing and shoving at all.”