Commuters at mercy of transport operators

MAHALAPYE - When it comes to the time a taxi, mini bus or bus has to leave the bus rank, commuters are at the mercy of transport operators as they are at liberty to decide when to leave.
According to Mr Keatimilwe Keatimilwe, Transport Officer with Department of Road Transport and Safety in Mahalapye says the transport permit does not regulate transport operators as to how long they take whilst waiting for commuters.
He said transport operators designate their own time and it depends on them as to how long they each queue until the taxi or bus is full.
Mr Keatimilwe said some respect customers' time and leave within minutes of boarding while others wait until they are satisfied.
He said in most cases, commuters will go for taxis as combis take long to leave the rank.
The Chairman of Taxi and Bus Association, Mr Gibson Matenge said the law does not stipulate duration of boarding but it says all vehicles should queue.
He said operators have a choice to set their own time as to when they leave the cue to transport commuters.
Mr Matenge gave an example of long distance buses, saying that they have decided that a bus should leave every 30 minutes to avoid delaying customers.
He said some combis in Gaborone also used the same method where a combi leaves after every 15 or 20 minutes of quiuing.
Mr Matenge however encouraged transport operators to respect their clients even though they are at liberty to choose when to leave.
Mr Kediemetse Setabosigo, a member of the Taxi Association in Mahalapye said operators should heed the needs of commuters and provide an efficient and effective transport service.
He said they should set a considerable queueing time bearing in mind that commuters need to arrive on time.
Mr Setabosigo said different routes have their own time regulations and they follow them.
Mr Oaitse Keganegile, one of the transport operators in Mahalapye, said business is good between 4:30pm and 6:00pm and from there only a few people show up, which means they delay leaving in order to try to find more customers.
He said in these instances commuters prefer taxis because they do not take long to fill up and can also be hired special.
This story was prompted by Flowertown commuters in Mahalapye, who said combis take long to leave, thus forcing them to resort to taxis even though it is expensive since taxis use a special price unless there are enough passengers to fill it. Mr Alent Madubeko who is the Flowertown route manager said this is not supposed to happen because passengers are the ones who give them business and need special treatment.
He encourages that when six passengers get into a combi it should leave except during peak hours when combis fill quickly.
Mr Madubeko said passengers should not wait for long in the combi because they end up feeling helpless and leave to find alternative transport. He said he encourages sufficient and convenient transport services.