Bulawayo councillors have resolved to allocate cross-border bus operators plying regional routes suitable pick-up and drop-off points in the central business district (CBD) to boost the city’s image.
The resolution was reached after a long debate at a full council meeting on Wednesday night.
Some councillors felt the cross-border buses should be compelled to pick and drop their passengers at the Renkini long-distance bus terminus, mainly reserved for buses plying local routes. Other councillors felt the Renkini terminus was “not safe and comfortable for foreign travellers”.
Cowdray Park councillor Collet Ndlovu said it was important for the local authority to protect the image of the city by allocating a safe site for cross-border buses.
“We don’t want them to carry the image of Renkini back to their countries,” he said.
Lobengula councillor Phinias Ndlovu, who was standing in for mayor Thaba Moyo, said the bus operators were guarding against harassment of their clients by touts.
“Renkini bus terminus cannot do for the clientele they are after,” he said.
“Touts at Renkini are very rough and fight over the luggage of travellers and that can inconvenience and unsettle some people.”
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Councillor Jenniffer Bent supported the deal, saying allocating a suitable site for cross-border buses would help develop the city.
“I have always been chided for being opposed to sports bars and interpreted as being against development,” she said. “What these bus operators are proposing is simply development. We are a city that wants to grow as well.”
But Pumula councillor Clyton Zwana was against the bus operators getting special treatment, especially those plying the Johannesburg route, saying they must use Renkini.
“I can see that these people are now running away from the areas they are supposed to operate from in the first place,” he said.
“They now all want to be confined to the city centre, why can’t they just go to Renkini?
“Who said people going to Johannesburg should not use Renkini? Let us compel these people to go to Renkini because there will always be congestion in the city centre.”
