Commuters cry foul

Olebile Ndeke
Correspondent | Tuesday March 30, 2010 00:00

 

Tshesebe resident Kegomoditswe Mazwi, a worker at the Outreach Project for Youth, said the drivers normally refuse to carry them because there are Combis designated to transport people to these destinations.

'These drivers are very rude that at times they tell us to wait and after that they dont bother to give you feedback,' she said. She claimed that the drivers abandon them at night, which forces them to hitchhike. She said due to the scarcity of Combis that commute between Francistown and Tshesebe, it sometimes becomes difficult to find transport. This forces them to use Ramokgwebana Combis. Mazwi said that sometimes when the Ramokgwebana Combis agree to carry them, they force them to travel standing while passengers who go to the border are seated.

Tshesebe resident Elsie Mokgopo concurred that they are having transport problems. She said the Combi drivers often refuse to transport them because they prefer the border-bound passengers who pay more money because they have luggage.'They say they only transport Zimbabwean nationals because they always have a lot of luggage and that they pay more money for them,' she said.

However, a Combi driver, Teedzani Nsumiwa dismissed allegations that they shun certain passengers. He stated that customers shun their Combis when the ones going to their destinations are available but in times of scarcity they come back. 'We carry everyone, all these are false claims from the passengers.

They are the ones that give us problems because they sometimes get into our Combis when theirs are not available but as soon as theirs arrive, they want to disembark whereas they have already paid and their tickets written. Imagine having to pay back the money and canceling the tickets at the same time. It is a waste,' said the Combi driver.

He stated that these passengers are always troublesome as they sometimes do not want to queue. Station manager at the Department of Roads Transport and Safety (DRTS), Selela Tshwene said that according to the law the Combi drivers must carry everyone who uses the same route no matter how far they are going.

He said it is an offence for Combis to refuse to carry passengers. Tshwene urged passengers to report drivers who refuse to carry them to the transport department.