BTOAZ Rules Out Fare Adjustment

Bus and Taxi Drives Association of Zambia (BTOAZ) National Secretary Sydeny Mbewe says there will be no adjustment in transport fares despite the increase in fuel pump prices for the month of September.

On Sunday, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) increased the price of petrol from K28 to K29.18 per litre and diesel from K23.12 to K25.02 per litre for the month of September.

In an interview, 1 September 2025, Mbewe noted that the price of fuel had been going down for the past few months but there was no reduction in transport fares.

He stated that transport operators also consider the business environment and the plight of customers before adjusting fares.

“On the increment and reduction of [the] pump prices of fuel, the determining factors are somehow within our control but a lot of them are not … we have seen the government make efforts where they’ve either arrested the increase or they’ve reduced the pimp price of fuel. Now, in terms of fare pricing, we’ve reached a point where it became a bit confusing where on every month basis, we announced a new fare of pricing and also at the period when the pump price of fuel was going up, we saw that the pricing of fares was also going up steadily in line with the increase in the pump price of fuel,” he said.

Mbewe also noted an increase in illegal operators in the transport sector.

“The public transport environment is vulnerable to other players who are not regulated or enforced not to participate in the public transport sector, we have seen an increase in piracy…So, if you have seen in most bus stations, where these fundamentals are rife, the pricing of fares are actually below what is stipulated on the fare chart,” Mbewe added.

He further said transport operators are doing their part to ensure that fares are not too high for commuters.

“This is a realisation of the environment that a lot of people that use our buses, who are normally from the low income or average income household would not afford those fares. Yes there are routes that are very hard hit which are operating lightly below the belt and there are routes that are protected like Kulima Tower in terms of being vulnerable to these other players but even them they are trying as much as possible to ensure that they give what would be affordable to commuters,” said Mbewe.