- Attribute proposal to fuel price increase
- Say last increment was too negligible
- Minister says fuel price increase does not guarantee fare adjustment
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
FRANCISTOWN: Following a rise in fuel prices on 1st April, public transport operators want taxi and bus fares adjusted but may meet with resistance from the government, The Botswana Gazette has established.
This comes six months after the last increment in fares in September last year that was also in response to a rise in fuel prices.
According to the Chairman of the Botswana Bus Operators Association (BBOA), Tirafalo Mponang, the last public transport fare adjustment did not have much impact on their operations because the government ignored their proposal before the 15 percent increase was effected.
“Our intention is to make a proposal and submit it to the government for review,” Mponang said. “We want to outline all factors that need to be considered
before a decision is taken.”
The Chairman of the Taxi Association Edison Tlhomelang, has also said the last public transport fare increment did not make much difference to operators because fuel prices went up again a few months later. He said together with bus operators, they have agreed to monitor factors that affect their businesses negatively before tabling a proposal to the
Minister of Transport and Communications Thulaganyo Segokgo.
“The latest fuel increase has made our already ailing businesses miserable,” Tlhomelang said in an interview. “We are closely monitoring which other levies will be endorsed by Parliament and other factors to justify our proposal before we approach the minister.”
But transport minister Segokgo says a fuel price increase does not always guarantee an adjustment in public transport fares because fuel prices fluctuate all the time. “In addition to a lot of other factors, fuel prices fluctuate and therefore fares cannot be adjusted whenever there is fuel price increase,” he said in an interview.