PUBLIC TRANSPORT OWNERS SHOCKED, ANOTHER FARES HIKE IN PIPELINE

MBABANE – Another public transport fare hike is on the cards following the increase in fuel prices.

Local Kombi and Mini-buses Association Chairman Ambrose Dlamini said the recent fuel hike announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy shocked them as public transport operators. He said this left them with no choice but to make another proposal to government to increase public transport fares. Dlamini said they were waiting for the official announcement or gazette in order to make another proposal, for yet another public transport fare hike. He said as players in the public transport sector, they would soon come together and draft a new proposal, that they would submit to government.

He said they would then discuss the calculations to agree when they could break even. “We can’t survive because even the recent hike was still below, when comparing the fact that fuel prices increased several times, after we had submitted the recent proposal,” said Dlamini. He said they then agreed to wait for this current fuel hike gazette before making a new proposal.
He said the association would do the calculations because by the look of things, the transport industry would suffer if they did not effect another hike. Meanwhile, Economist Thembinkosi Dube said the fuel hike would increase the country’s inflation leading to the livelihood of the citizens being much more difficult.

He said public transport operators would have no choice but to seek an increase in fares as their cost of production would have increased. He said the disposable income for consumers would decrease because they were now spending on fuel. He said the cost of food prices would definitely increase as well. Dube said the government’s hands were tied because fuel was imported. He said even if government could introduce other levies, that would just be temporary. Chairman of the Consumers Association Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli said he was still shocked by this fuel hike because consumers were still trying to adapt to the latest hike that was introduced in April. Mdluli said it was unfortunate that such problems were out of anyone’s control due to certain effects around the globe. He said they were hoping government would once again support consumers in some form of contribution to cushion them up.

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