City Councils in Malawi have been urged to regulate public transport services in their cities following cases of attacks on passengers in taxis.
Social commentator, Thandi Hara says council have a responsibility to end the chaotic way of providing public transport services.
In Malawi, anyone can use their vehicle as a taxi without registering with authorities.
Recently, there have been increasing reports about people being mugged after boarding taxi.
Yesterday, a father in Zomba reported that his 19-year-old son was missing after boarding a taxi is scary. The young man sent a text saying the he boarded had suspicious persons. Police said yesterday they were searching for the boy.
According to Hara, a few weeks ago a woman also narrated how she got into a taxi at Mtandire and the occupants mugged her and she thought they could have harmed her. She only escaped by sheer luck after they took her money away.
Hara, in a Facebook post, said council should start registering any vehicle and owners before they start providing passenger transport.
“They will need to pay a fee in return for using the trust mark from Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Zomba or BT city council. No-one must be allowed to run a passenger service without being registered. Private individuals can open taxi companies and register drivers, but owners of those companies should be regulated by you…
“There is no excuse for the madness going on. Every day tons of public officers travel to the U.K. and other places and they see for themselves how public transport is organised. What’s with the madness then? City rates aren’t the only way you can generate funds,” said Hara.
