People cry foul over ‘unfair’ fares

PEOPLE in the North are complaining that bus drivers are illegally inflating fares, exploiting a shortage of transport after the summer holidays.

Hordes of people who spent the holidays with their families in the North are desperately trying to get transport back to their places of work or study, spending hours and even days at bus stops hoping for an empty seat.
‘Some bus drivers are charging N$200 per head excluding luggage for those travelling to Windhoek, Walvis Bay or Swakopmund. This is too much and unfair, we cannot afford that. Nabta must intervene to stop this robbing’, one complained to The Namibian.
Some people said they have been waiting for two or three days for an honest bus driver who charges the fare set by Nabta, the Namibian Bus and Taxi Association.
When approached for comment, Nabta president Magnus Nangombe said the association is aware of ‘some unscrupulous elements’ but is unable to intervene if the buses operate from non-Nabta terminals.
‘Nabta has agreed on a standard price with the Government through the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication where all bus owners and drivers should base their bus fares on,’ he told The Namibian.
‘If somebody feels that his rights were violated, he should lay a charge with the Police in that specific area, they are ready to take their course. That is a criminal case’, Nangombe said.
He added that Nabta has negotiated with various town councils to allocate it loading terminals in their towns, but this has yet to be done. He urged commuters to pressure their local authorities to speed up this process, saying that terminals operated by Nabta in Windhoek were working well.
‘I have a humble request to make to bus owners to communicate to the drivers. Let us charge fair prices from the people who are the backbone of this transport industry. Without people this business will not thrive. Let our operation be just to our customers and not rob them,’ said Nangombe.
He encouraged commuters to report bus drivers who overcharge them to the Police.