BUS AND TAXI OWNERS REJECT GOVT’S SLASH OF FARES.
They claim that in a liberalised economy, government has no authority to determine prices of goods and services in this case bus fares.
The bus and Taxi owners state that what government has done is tantamount to introducing price controls.
They further state that government never consulted them on the figure of reduction and they have just been caught an unaware over the matter.
Governent has announced a K5 reduction in bus fares within Lusaka following a reduction in fuel prices.
These guys are just greedy. They never complain when RTSA proposes increments to the fares. Whenever fuel prices are increased, they increase bus fares citing this reason only but today why should they cite other costs which they never cite whenever they are increasing the fares? Let commuters also get some breathing space. Free market does not mean there should not be regulation.
Bus owners please be realistic. You never disagreed when the increament was done last time and why do you want to complicate straight issues when fuel has been reduced?
I have never heard of filling station owners saying no to reduction until we finish our old stock but why are you complaining to reduce fares when fuel is reduced?
These people are just greedy. They want to continue exploiting commuters. They fully know that their profits increase each time there is a bus fare increment after fuel increment and so they would prefer fuel to be increasing everytime so that their profits keep increasing their profits margin.
This association is not well -informed about government roll in a liberalized economy.
Government plays the role and retains it’s role as referee even in a Liberalized economy!
What this association is doing is shooting itself in the foot!
Why don’t you complain when government increases bus fares but you want to complain when your time to reduce fares comes?
What kind of Greed is this?
Please don’t complain when government phases out your association. Don’t you know government can buy buses and do the job you are doing?
Government will not sit idle and see it’s citizens being exploited by ill-informed Shalatans!
Get better advisors!
It’s either you comply or get phased out and who is going to lose?
Can the Consumer protection unit step in and work with RTSA to ensure that commuters are not exploited. Can you employ undercover commuters to monitor and clamp down those that want to defy government directive!
A liberalized economy does not mean you do as you please! Please understand your Economics!
Learn to pass on the benefits to your customers! Don’t you have training in customer relations?
Also you customers, know your rights and report wrong doors!
Don’t be Selfish!
Moreover, you cannot be a ‘liberalized economy’ while speaking as an association! An association is itself is by definition a group of organized people serving a common purpose – meaning the sector is not liberalized. To truly liberalize the transport industry, this same association (and all other such unions and groups) must be disbanded. Then operators will truly set their own prices according to the market.
You are right. In this case, the government is acting in the interests of the people. We can’t expect the associations to reduce prices at their own expense! These guys don’t care about a liberalized economy – they want to be the ones in charge.
Again people here are blaming the wrong people. These bus operators are correct, even though I do not like what they have done. But I can not blame them.
The only person to blame is the one that brought about the confusion of changing prices every month, which means you can not budget or plan beyond one month.
He thinks our economy is like that of Panama. He needs to take things back to how he found them ASAP.