Kitwe mayor wants illegal bus stations removed

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:42:51 +0000

By ROGERS KALERO

Kitwe City Council will work with the Zambia Traffic Police and other relevant authorities to stop the mushrooming of illegal bus stations in the city to ensure sanity and order, says Kitwe Mayor Christopher Kang’ombe.

Mr Kang’ombe said illegal bus stations like the ones at Airtel, MTN, Palatella, Total filling station, ZIPSIP, Silicosis and Moba Stores in the second class trading area should be removed.

The mayor issued the statement on Wednesday when he met the local Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operators to resolve the impasse between the Noah bus drivers and those driving Rosa and Toyota Hiace buses.

“Let us work together to bring sanity and order to the city by stopping these illegal bus stations, some of which are on the road side and can cause accidents. So all illegal bus stations like I have mentioned should be abolished.

“As a local authority, we will seek the support of traffic police and other relevant authorities to stop the mushrooming of illegal bus stations in the city,” Mr Kang’ombe said.

Mr Kang’ombe however said Noah bus drivers at Wusakile rank near the Customs Department would serve four routes – Nkana East, AMIS, Masuzyo (Ndeke Village) in Wusakile and Chamboli.

Rosa and Toyota minibus drivers in the main Oxford station would also serve four routes – Ndeke Changa-Changa, Kamfinsa, Maposa and Luangwa/Malembeka.

He said the council had been forced to make a resolution on the sharing of loading routes between Oxford station and Wusakile rank after the drivers from the two groups failed to agree on how they would operate.

“Let us work together to see how these arrangements will work. If we face challenges, then we will refine. The most important thing is to make sure that both of you groups are making money,” he said.