Transport shortages in Harare are forcing desperate commuters to pay bribes ranging from $15 to $25 to urban Zupco bus crews to jump the long queues and get a seat without a hassle.

Since March 30 when lockdown started, private commuter operators were pushed off the road leaving Zupco to enjoy monopoly of ferrying urban commuters to and from the city centre.

Zupco, which has a limited fleet, now appears overwhelmed, a development that is now fuelling corruption at bus terminuses.

The bribery also involves touts who control queues and those who sanitise passengers at various bus ranks in Harare and Chitungwiza.

Such corrupt activities are rife along Chitungwiza routes during peak hours when most commuters would be jostling to board the few available conventional buses.

Pirate taxis and other private motorists illegally ferrying passengers in Chitungwiza charge between $40 and $65 to get to the city centre and commuters are finding it cheaper to pay $20 bribe plus the heavily subsidised $6 to Zupco.

Those who pay bribes end up paying a total of $26, which is much cheaper than boarding private vehicles.

During week days, passengers start queuing for the ZUPCO buses as early as 2 pm.

Investigations by The Herald recently revealed that commuters spend close to three hours in a queue due to inadequate buses to ferry them to their destinations.

Bus crews and some touts working in cahoots with the bus crews, collect bribes at Pick n Pay shop near Charge Office bus rank.

Travellers state where they want to go before paying the bribe to the touts.

When the buses come, those who would have paid bribes are allowed to enter ahead of those in the queues.

A bus gets into the rank with at least 10 special passengers who would have paid bribes.

There are also known regular clients who do not join the queues but wait for the buses near Pick n Pay.

Drivers just pick them up before they get into the rank to ferry those in the queues.

Such regular clients pay the bribes inside the buses.

They also pay between $15 and $25 each, excluding the $6 official ZUPCO fare.

Asked to comment on the corruption, Zupco acting chief executive officer Mr Everisto Madangwa professed ignorance before vowing to take disciplinary action against any bad apples in the company.

"Please furnish me with an example so we take disciplinary action," Mr Madangwa responded.

This writer went undercover to expose the rot.

He disguised as a desperate traveller outside Pick n Pay shop at Charge Office where buses were dropping passengers.

Though a considerate number of buses plying Chitungwiza route were picking some people outside the rank, several attempts by the reporter to board buses at TM entrance were fruitless as conductors preferred dealing with their regular clients.

It was only after the writer approached one of the drivers and asked for a favour to be allowed into the bus ahead of those in the queue, that he managed to get in.

He was asked to pay $25, which he handed over to the driver.

He was asked to join the other 10 "special passengers" who were already seated in the Zengeza-bound Zupco contracted bus.

While inside the bus, the driver then collected money from the other 10 passengers before ferrying other commuters in the queue.

Tickets were issued out by the conductor later on.

Some commuters who were standing in the queue grumbled demanding to know why some 10 people were already in the bus but the conductor rubbished them saying they were "staff members".

Copyright The Herald. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English