294 privately owned buses and kombies have joined the ZUPCO franchise after they were cleared by the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED), The Herald reports. In the same process, CMED also tested 221 drivers and 197 of them passed.
ZUPCO CEO Everisto Madangwa confirmed the development and said the buses were already in their fleet:
They all have to go through the same process of having their buses inspected and drivers tested.
We want to urge others to come and join so that we boost our fleet. We are not punishing anyone, but these are measures to safeguard the customers or passengers we are ferrying.
CMED MD Davison Mhaka encouraged more operators to join the program. The ZUPCO subsidy was introduced by the government last year to augment transport challenges caused by kombi operators who were exorbitantly charging commuters.
More: The Herald