by Tafara Mugwara

HARARE, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Early morning in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, scores of people hurriedly scramble to board a train bound for the city center.

School children in neat uniforms with backpacks strapped on their backs trek to the rail tracks as they rushed to school.

The train is part of a new rail commuter system that was introduced last week to alleviate the transport challenges in low-income western and eastern areas of the capital as more people commute to the city center following the relaxation of a pandemic lockdown.

The system, which uses the existing rail network, operates three high-density routes during peak morning and evening hours.

Commuters who had endured transport woes have applauded the reintroduction of the commuter train, which used to ply the routes a decade ago but was halted at the height of Zimbabwe's economic challenges.

Mable Kutadza said she used to wake up at 4 a.m. but was still at risk of losing her job because she was always late for work due to transport challenges.

"The train takes 45 minutes to get into CBD, but with a bus sometimes it took an hour because of congestion, but the train does not encounter traffic jams, once it departs the station the next thing is getting off the train," she told Xinhua.

The rail commuter system is a partnership between Zimbabwe's sole urban public transport provider the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).

Since Zimbabwe eased pandemic lockdown measures earlier this month to allow businesses to resume operations, the volume of commuters using public transport has increased significantly.

The resumption of schools last week after a three-month hiatus also saw an increase in daily commuters.

This has seen ZUPCO failing to cope with the high demand, resulting in commuters enduring long delays.

Under Zimbabwe's pandemic prevention guidelines, ZUPCO buses and private-owned buses under the ZUPCO franchise are the only mode of transport allowed to ferry passengers in urban areas.

Private-owned buses have been banned from operating in urban routes since last March in a bid to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and to bring sanity to the public transportation sector.

Since the introduction of the ZUPCO monopoly, passengers have been lamenting over delays suffered at bus termini as the government-run public transporter failed to cope with the demand.

Due to the shortage of mass public transport, Edna Chaurura had no option but to take illegal taxis, where she risked being harassed by touts.

"With the introduction of the rail commuter service I can get home on time, I can do my work on time, have my supper on time, and I can have time to rest so that tomorrow I can wake up and go to work with energy because I wouldn't have spent a long time queuing waiting for public transportation, so I am happy, I hope the service continues," she told Xinhua.

Marian Kwembeya said she can now travel freely with her family for grocery shopping in the CBD.

"We haven't traveled as a family for quite a long time, we were used to seeing the train passing by, and we didn't know how it's like being on a train, but today my family is happy, I am happy because today we boarded a train and we are seated comfortably," said Kwembeya.

Charles Gonzo, a small-scale farmer, said he can now transport his produce efficiently.

"The introduction of trains has brought convenience to commuters, people can now focus on their business on time, because with no proper transportation things won't progress well, the economy can only stabilize if the transport is readily available, people being able to move freely anytime," he said.

During the evening commute, the trains are packed to the brim.

Mitchel Togarepi said the introduction of the evening commuter train has brought convenience and safety to female commuters.

"There is no pressure here, at the bus station when everyone wants to go home in late hours, as a woman it's very scary especially if I get off the bus late, because there is an increase in rape and robbery cases, as a woman I'll be in danger, so with the introduction of trains I can get home on time, and that saves me from danger, I'll get home while people are still moving around," she said.

Recently the government has taken various measures to alleviate transport challenges faced by urban commuters.

The government said it will purchase 1,500 buses mainly from China to augment ZUPCO's current fleet.

ZUPCO requires 2,000 buses to run an efficient mass transport system, but currently, the public transport utility has a fleet of 262 buses and around 550 on franchise. Enditem

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