Passengers cry foul as minibus fares double amid COVID-19 scare

Minibus passengers have cried foul over sudden hike of minibus and sientas fares by 100 percent effective Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

The hike is in reaction to Covid-19 precautionary measures announced by the Special Cabinet Committee on Coronavirus that included a reduction in passenger capacity for minibuses and big buses as well as private passenger vehicles.

Routes that normally cost K300 in Blantyre City had operators asking passengers to pay K600. While those routes that were at MK200 are now at MK500 with the vivid example being Monyowe-Blantyre route.

The hike attracted mixed reactions and some took the issue to social media to express their anger.

One of the concerned citizen identified as Chiukepo Chucks Lungu wrote: “The stupidity of leaving all public services such as transport in the hands of private sector. Kamuzu was not a fool by establishing stagecoach, a state transport company. It is in times like these where the public benefits from such establishment.”

Concurring with Lungu’s remakes Hamida Violet Kumwenda wrote: “There is no single case and yet prices should go up yet where there are cases and a lockdwown nothing of that is happening malawi pena paliponse you took advantage of why?”

Same Lipenga wrote: “And surprisingly, when the pandemic is over, the minibus operators will never reduce the fares, and will go back to their usual passanger sitting arrangement (4, 4 pa mpando)…. I don’t know how sweet money is to Malawian minibus operators).”

Meanwhile Minister of Information and Communication Technology Mark Botomani has urged commuters to walk.