By ANDREW PHIRI –

LIVINGSTONE Public Transport Association has refused to reduce fares for both local and long distance routes, saying the fuel reduction of K2 by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) last week has no major significance.
Association chairperson Christopher Banda said the reduction of the fuel pump price for both petrol and diesel by about K2 has no serious impact for motorists because they were still subjected to paying high road taxes.
Mr Banda said it would have made sense for them to reduce fares if the reduction of fuel represented the global market reduction of about 50 per cent.
“This reduction by K2 cannot translate into anything very significant that can subject us to reduce bus and taxi fares because already we are subjected to paying high road taxes to the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) including council levies as well as high medical fees. If ERB can reduce fuel prices by 50 per cent as it is on the global market, then we can consider reducing the fares,” Mr Phiri said.
Shalom Buses Livingstone manager Bimaile Phiri said transporters were still waiting for a new president to be ushered in, in order for them to be given direction.
Commuters in Livingstone have expressed concerns that bus and taxi drivers have continued to charge old fares despite the fuel reduction by ERB last week.
Some commuters who stormed the Times office in Livingstone said it was unfair for them to continue paying K5 and K2 for local routes on taxis and buses respectively because the fuel reduction of K2 was enough for the operators to also consider a reduction in fares.
Monica Chileshe a business executive said fuel prices world over determined the cost of business and living and that when such a thing happened, it was only prudent for bus and taxi operators to reciprocate.
“What we are seeing on the part of our our taxi and bus operators is theft. When fuel prices are reduced especially by such an amount, we also need to see the benefits as business people through the reduction of transportation costs, but this is not the case,” Ms Chileshe said.
Ms Chileshe said it was unfair for transporters to be in a hurry to increase fares only when there was an upward adjustment of fuel pump prices by ERB.