ZUPCO, the future of convenient transportation in Zimbabwe.
By Tadiwa Jery
After being founded in 1985, The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) was once a
reliable transportation service in the country. With the new government taking an initiative to bring
back the company, it is becoming apparent that the company still has more to offer to commuters.
After ZUPCO collapsed financially, Zimbabwe’s transportation industry was left in the hands of
private owned omnibus companies. Owning a commuter omnibus that piloted in highly populated
areas became a lucrative investment and in no time, the market was saturated with omnibuses that
transported people to their destinations.
Although these were convenient and reliable, they quickly became notorious for bad customer
experience. Some of the companies in the transportation business at that time began piloting without
the legal documents required and this made matters worse as the law enforcement authorities
decided to bring order in the industry.
During the police and omnibus driver altercations in the streets, innocent lives were lost and both
sides were to blame. The Covid-19 pandemic then gave the government the chance to retake
control of the transportation industry by reopening ZUPCO for operations.
The government invited private owned omnibus companies to partner up with the government
owned company to ensure that the general public will receive adequate transportation service.
However, most companies turned a deaf ear to this call but some decided to team up with the
government to pave a way forward for the future.
With the alliance of Zupco and other transportation companies, Zimbabwe commuters are now
experiencing more professionalism and convenience when traveling. Although the market was left
with over a 97% decrease in busses piloting after the government interference, more busses have
joined the alliance and the transportation service is improving gradually.
In 2021, ZUPCO and NRZ joined forces, bringing back passenger trains in response to the
transportation crisis faced by ZUPCO. The Information Secretary, Mr Nick Mangwana stated that the
NRZ and ZUPCO partnership is now running a route in Bulawayo.
The recovering company is taking its role passionately and is relentlessly serving the public to
further mitigate the transportation crisis and there is hope for more improvement.
