Transport operators say they have started fitting their buses with speed tracking and limiting devices.
This follows the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023, which limits the speed of buses to 100km/h on the open road.
Speaking in an interview with The source, Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation (ZIPTO) chairperson Samson Nhanhanga said they are targetting reducing accidents by 30 percent by the year 2025. He said:
As an association, we are working with VID, the Traffic Safety Council and all the relevant ministries and departments which are concerned with road issues.
We donated speed monitoring devices and they can work on any bus and it works with a tracker.
We have talked to Econet Wireless to integrate the whole system with other stakeholders so that at the end of the day all buses can be on one platform.
Nhanhanga said the project was being conducted at Harare Central Police Station by the police and other relevant stakeholders.
The other stakeholders involved in the pilot project include the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ). Said Nhanhanga:
The pilot project is going on very well. The people in the control room are able to see a bus wherever it is.
Yes, we have challenges here and there but we are polishing them up.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said:
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has also roped in the police in terms of the Zimbabwe Management Transport Information System (ZIMTIS) project and this project includes the issue of speeding and general compliance with the country’s road rules and regulations.
That’s why we are saying we are fully behind what some transporters have done when they said police can you assist us in terms of monitoring their buses while they are moving on the country’s roads through technology.
So it’s a work in progress, which we believe other transporters should also play a part in.
In June this year, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development (MOTID) promulgated Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023 which made it mandatory for passenger public service vehicles (buses/kombis) and other heavy vehicles to install speed limit and monitoring devices on their vehicles.
Source PindulaNews
