Solwezi bus drivers, passengers cry for shelter

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 08:30:50 +0000

By Nation Reporter

BUS drivers and passengers in Solwezi district have called on the local authority to build a shelter at the main bus station.

The Solwezi main bus station has been operating without a shelter for passengers in transit despite the local authority collecting levies from bus operators.

Drivers who spoke through their committee chairperson Lewis Kamwendo said they were finding it difficult to operate at the station without a shelter, especially with the arrival of the rains.

Mr Kamwendo said drivers and passengers at the station were subjected to harsh conditions, hence the need for the council to build a shelter.

“Year in year out we have been operating like this yet the council collects levies every day from bus operators,” said Mr Kamwendo.

He also said during the rainy season, passengers were forced to seek refuge in shop corridors around the station.

“But the worst part is that shop owners have started chasing passengers from their shops saying they are being inconvenienced. So we need the shelter at the station,” he said.

And one of the passengers talked to lamented the condition passengers had been subjected to at the station.

Ireen Mwelwa said it was the duty of the council to maintain bus stations, hence the need for the local authority to construct a shelter for passengers.

“We can’t continue like this; the council needs to come in quickly and construct a shelter here,” she said.

And when contacted for a comment, Solwezi mayor Nicholas Mukumbi said plans were underway to put up a temporal shelter at the station.