As we understand it, the Gaborone transport operators (through GTLBSA) had demanded that bus operators from out-of-town must not be allowed to drop off clients (passengers) at their workplaces once in Gaborone. Such a demand is perplexing in that the out-of-town operators were providing this service at no extra cost to their long-term clients. Giving incentives to customers is a widely accepted business practice worldwide. Perhaps, this situation helps explain the mindset of many local operators who seem not to run their operations as businesses - but instead do so as a favour to passengers! Now the Gaborone operators are demanding these passengers be delivered to them, so that they can make extra money from them. That is absurd to say the least. As much as the GTLBSA members have a right to withhold their services, they have no right to deny those operators who are not their members to service the passengers. Yesterday there were reports of intimidation of operators who were willing to assist commuters at various bus stops around the city. This is unacceptable.
The public reaction to yesterdays fiasco should serve as a wake-up call to taxi and bus operators in Gaborone. Instead of evoking public support as they had erroneously thought, their strike action was outrightly condemned.
There are still many outstanding issues, which Gaborone operators have to address before they can hope for public sympathy. These include over-loading, speeding and reckless driving, operating un-roadworthy vehicles and poor customer service. The unbecoming and uncultured language that is used daily against the passengers (read customers) is not only humiliating but also shocking.
Further, mini buses operators waste their passengers time while trying to fill their vehicles, even though they operate on designated routes on which they can expect to pick-up additional passengers. The Gaborone taxi operation is a far cry from the kind of service one gets, say in Francistown. The Gaborone taxis rarely leave the environs of their parking spots without demanding outrageous special fares, which can mean anything from P20 to P60. For instance, is it not strange that one cannot get a taxi from the main mall to Middle Star mall or Maruapula without being asked to pay a special rate? In Francistown it is easy to go to most parts of that city without the so-called special levy.
Clearly, it is high time the Road Safety department cracked the whip to get the Gaborone operators in line. Otherwise, the council should be permitted to operate public transport.
