Higher Bus And Taxi Fares Set To Be Announced

The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia (BTOAZ) is today set to announce new, higher fares, in response to the rise in fuel prices unveiled last week.

In a statement to the media, BTOAZ spokesperson Amis Daudi said the decision to raise fares followed a consultative meeting with the government’s Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA). 

He urged bus and taxi drivers to remain patient and wait until the consultations had finished before introducing new fares. It comes after several transporters in towns on the Copperbelt hiked their prices this weekend following the rise in fuel prices announced by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) on Friday. 

The pump price of petrol was increased from K17.62 per litre to K21.16 - a 20% hike. Diesel prices, meanwhile, soared from K15.59 per litter to 20.15, reflecting an increase of nearly 30%. 

The ERB said that pump prices had been kept artificially low since December 2019, despite global fluctuations in oil prices and the devaluing of the Kwacha. 

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said that the IMF programme to tackle Zambia’s debt situation would include removing unsustainable subsidies on energy and agriculture. He warned that this would necessarily result in price rises - a decision which has already proved politically contentious.

“The increase is going to come, because as a country we over-borrowed,” Musokotwane warned.