By Seleoe Nonyane
A planned hike in public transport fare has been received with mixed reactions from the users who commute to and from their workplaces daily.
Based on this week’s announcement by the public transport operators’ organisation Maseru Region Transport Operators (MRTO) that an agreement has been struck to increase the fare to by 30 percent, users have voiced their opinions on the issue.
The agreement is that a hike on public transport fares is to be effective from June 1 this year.
This was announced by the chairman of MRTO Mokete Jonase at a media briefing.
Some of those irked by the increase claim they do not understand why the fare is being hiked when poverty and unemployment are glaring at their faces. They claim the increase will adversely affect their livelihoods.
A Ha Leqele-based commuter Molatela Mphou said he does not support the decision to spike the transport fare because already he is struggling to afford it. He feared he might be forced to walk to work and back home.
“As a young adult who has just been employed a few months ago, I do not earn much salary. A large portion of my earnings is spent on commuting to and from work. If the fare is increased I won’t be able to afford it,” he said.
He added: “I may find myself having to travel to and from work on foot which may not be so possible. I think it will even be harder as now winter is just on the door step.”
He said he might be forced to dodge working on some days leaving him in desolate situation although he is desperate for a job to earn a living.
Also throwing his word was Hape Kose who also commutes daily to work. She said she was taken aback when she heard news about the hike.
“I could not believe it when I heard the news about the fare increase. I actually do not easily afford to pay the transport fare. The coming months are to be difficult times for me in as far as I have to commute,” she said.
“When the taxi fare is hiked I will not be able to afford it because already I spend a lot on the fare. I will be forced to newly arrange my monthly budget and make some cuts and sacrifices in order to be able to go to work,” Kose added.
“I wish that my monthly earning would be increased so that I can afford the fare,” Kose thought.
On the other, Rethabile Tšoeu of Borokhoaneng in Maseru said the hike was long overdue as fuel and food prices are also skyrocketting.
“I feel that it is only fair that transport fare should be increased as we have experienced high inflation as a result of fuel and food price increases. The transport operators are in business and they also deserve to gain.
“It should have not come as a surprise because taxi operators have lodged their complaints for quite a while now hence this increment was bound to happen. Therefore, Basotho public transport users should have been ready and prepared for this increment,” Tšoeu said.
He said Basotho should have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic that things can change in no time and “should always be vigilant should anything happen.”
However, he believed he was also facing hard times due to the increase.
But the MRTO spokesperson Lebohang Moea peeved by the long time it took both the ministry of transport and the operators to reach an agreement, adding it gave an impression that the two parties were at war.
He said the operators started clamouring for an M18 fare in 2020 but this never came to pass ‘due to Covid-19 and a decline in the economy.’
The ministry of transport has announced plans to conduct a research to determine the feasibility of the increase.
