MAKHADO – Angry commuters of the Phadziri Bus Company from Sinthumule/Kutama and Vleifontein caused chaos at the Makhado Bus rank last Wednesday to indicate that they are fed-up with the Phadziri buses that cause them to be late for work on a daily basis.

Commuters said that they wait for the Phadziri buses from as early as 05:00, but the buses usually arrive at 08:00, resulting in their arriving late at work. In the afternoon, they knock-off at 16:00 or 16:30, but have to wait for the buses until 19:00.

Commuters from Madombidzha say that on Saturdays when they come to work, they use taxis because there is no bus going to town early on a weekend. When Mirror arrived at the bus rank, we found that the situation was tense and the local police had to calm down angry commuters who were blocking the road for Phadziri buses.

A pupil from Madombidzha, who attends school at Elim, told Mirror that it is now a known fact at his school that every day he arrive at 10:00. "On a daily basis, we arrive home at 20:00 and there is a high possibility that women can be molested while we are still at the bus rank," said angry commuters. Others who spoke to Mirror said that they are no longer going to buy tickets this month for Phadziri buses, but they would buy from its rival, GT transport.

When Mirror's reporter left the bus rank at 19:00, the situation was still tense, with commuters refusing to travel with old buses that they alleged had no brakes.

On behalf of the Phadziri Bus Company, Mr Tshikume Phadziri said that the problem of time had been resolved with drivers by the management. "Our buses might be looking old, but they are roadworthy. We were arriving late to pick up commuters of Sinthumule/ Kutama, due to the bad road that is under construction. We told our drivers in Sinthumule/ Kutama to be punctual, before we lose our customers," he said.