Transport fare hikes deepen financial strain for Bulawayo households
By Nobukhosi Ndlovu
Residents in Bulawayo say the rising cost of transport is making it harder for workers, students and vendors to afford their daily commute after fares doubled and in some areas, tripled following the recent fuel price adjustment announced by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).
“The adjustment in fuel prices may appear small, but once it translates into commuter transport, the increase becomes far more severe for ordinary workers,” Nkululeko Mpofu, an economist at a local university noted, explaining that while fuel rose by less than 10 percent, its impact becomes bigger for everyone else.
Commuters across the city then shared their grievances, pointing out how the sudden change is making it harder to manage daily expenses.
“A dollar covered my journey to and from work,” said Nonsikelelo, a worker who travels to the city centre every day, “but now I have to pay a dollar per journey, which means I have to cut money from other things in my budget to accommodate the sudden transport increase.” She also stressed on how her salary would then barely cover her basic needs, when most of it is being utilized to pay for transport to go to work.
Thembi, a local vendor also expressed concern over the rising transport fares, explaining that small traders rely on daily travel to restock goods. “Every extra cent we have to spend now to cover the increasing transportation fares means that we are either making less profit or none at all.” She added, reflecting on the concern that there is no guarantee that transportation fare increase will stop in the near future, therefore will affect women like her who rely on selling to run their households.
Other commuters also echoed her concern, highlighting that parents who have children that need transport every day to travel to and from school are going to have to tackle not only their daily commute but include their children as well, which in turn will lead to income strains.
Notably, someone who had been traveling to work every day with transport costs that were about US $20 a month could rise to between US $40 and US $60 if they are then paying US $1 per trip instead of the usual US $0.50.
Mpofu warned that the impact may not stop with commuter fares. “Transport is part of moving goods across the economy,” he highlighted, “if it becomes more expensive to move goods, that transport increase is passed forward at every stage of the value chain.” He explained, emphasizing that the fuel adjustment will not stay at the fuel pump but it will shift to the value of food, among many other products that rely heavily on road transportation to reach different markets.
Mpofu explained that producers will increase the prizes of their products to accommodate the high transportation costs which will then lead to service providers like builders, plumbers and delivery businesses to reprise their services as well.
“Workers in the informal sector, who have no salary structure to negotiate upward and no employer to petition for a transport allowance, are most exposed,” he said. “They simply absorb the loss, which means less money for food, education, health and savings.” Mpofu said.
He then noted that the government’s 2026 economic plan aimed to make prices more stable for households and small businesses, but the recent transport increase is making that stability hard to feel for the people on the ground.
“The central bank and government should also monitor the second-round price effects across food and basic goods closely over the next few weeks and stand ready to respond if the inflation begins to reverse the hard-won gains of 2025,” he recommended.
The rise in transport fares follows the recent adjustment in fuel prices by ZERA which was a result of government reducing some of its charges to cushion the consumers from the massive increases that have happened from changes in the international market.
