Holiday travellers have been shocked to find that bus fares have surged drastically. Long-distance bus operators have increased the fares in some cases by as much as 5 times. Some travellers were left stranded as they could not afford the fares.
| Trip | Normal Price | Surge Price |
|---|---|---|
| Harare to Mhondoro (about 100km) | $6 | $25 |
| Harare to Gokwe | $15 | $50 |
| Harare to Masvingo | $12 | $40 |
| Harare - Gweru | $12 | $50 |
| Gweru - Gokwe | - | $75 |
| Gweru - Silobela | - | $35 |
Operators blamed the fuel crisis saying that they have to buy fuel on the black market and sometimes are paying as much as $80 for 20 litres of fuel.
The practice of tripling, quadrupling and quintupling travelling fares in times of high demand is called surge pricing and is quite common globally.
More: The Herald