Zimbabwe: Surge in ‘Mushikashikas’ Disrupts City Traffic
UNREGISTERED vehicles and illegal taxis commonly known as mushikashika are flourishing in ever large numbers and some are disrupting traffic by not pulling into parking spaces or using undesignated points.
Passengers are being picked up and dropped at undesignated points causing traffic congestion on main roads during peak hours.
Mushikashika operations are always playing cat and mouse games with police in the city centre and can be a risk to pedestrians as a result.
Kombis without proper documentation and licenced for using terminuses and bus stops contribute to the congestion, sometimes by filling bus terminuses that are supposed to give priority to full-sized buses since terminus space is tight.
At lot of undesignated pick up points, where kombis and mushikashika just park while waiting to fill their seats have since emerged and they have become health time bombs as the points do not have ablution facilities and waste bins.
Yesterday The Herald crew moved around the city and noticed that the presence of mushikashika was not only causing disorder, but also contributing to pollution.
Along Leopold Takawira Street, behind Queen Elizabeth School, there were operators ferrying people to Westgate, Marlborough, Greencroft, Avondale, Chinhoyi, Karoi and even Kariba.
There was a stench coming from the garbage filling the whole area.
Near the construction site for the Mbudzi flyovers, there was disorder and commotion with South African registered buses loading while small cars where picking up passengers destined for Masvingo, Chihota, Chivhu and Mvuma in the middle of the road. Haulage trucks were also pirating by picking up passengers heading to Beitbridge and Chiredzi.
Westgate roundabout was filled with mushikashika vehicles in the form of Toyota Vitz, Toyota Wish,Toyota Noah forcing buses to load along the road blocking traffic.
Other illegal pirates were ferrying passengers travelling to Mutare at the intersection of ED Mnangagwa Road and Robert Mugabe Road blocking traffic using both roads.
At the rank between Simon Muzenda Street and Fifth Street opposite Holiday Inn hotel small cars without number plates where loading passengers to Murehwa and Mutoko.
This is a bus stop, but not a waiting area. Public service vehicles are supposed to just stop briefly to let people on or off and then keep moving.
Outside the rank parallel to the Gulf Complex were illegal taxi operators ferrying people to the Simon Muzenda bus terminus which was also filled with kombis.
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The small terminus opposite the police charge office was not spared from the chaos as buses were loading outside the rank along Robson Manyika Road with also small cars without number plates loading illegally 50m away from the police headquarters.
Other undesignated pick-up points in the city centre included, intersection of Joseph Msika Street and Robert Mugabe Road, corner Sam Nujoma Street and Leonid Brezhnev Avenue and at the intersection of Julius Nyerere Way and Robert Mugabe Road among others.
Commuters have expressed concern over the mushikashika takeover saying there are now living in fear of being harassed in public.
Mr Freddy Dhliwayo said he was saddened by how the mushikashika operators were causing disaster in ranks.
“The mushikashika operators are causing a lot of trouble in the city centre.
Recently, a woman was nearly run-over by a vehicle that was escaping from the police.
We want the police to act and remove all those operating at undesignated areas,” he said.
Ms Pauline Sunganoyemoyo echoed the same sentiments and said the green light given to kombi operators was contributing to the disorder at ranks.
“Things were getting back to normal when all public transport operators were ordered to operate under the Zupco franchise.
Mushikashika was low, but when the transport system was liberalised, mushikashika including kombis resurfaced and now they are a menace in the city centre,” she said.