Fed up with petrol pumps that often run dry, commuters in Zimbabwe’s capital are turning to an alternative way to get around — trading petrol power for pedal power.
The humble bicycle is becoming a vehicle of choice as the Southern African country wrestles with its worst fuel crisis since independence in 1980, prompted by a severe foreign currency shortage.
Long queues fill the roadsides outside service stations that are still getting some deliveries, with cars, buses and trucks sometimes parked for days before getting rationed amounts.
Fuel shortages have also caused a surge in price for public transport — for many poor Zimbabweans one of the few ways of getting around — with private bus operators doubling their fares last month.
Many Zimbabweans, like 33-year-old Biliat Jorindo, say they cannot afford to take the bus anymore and must seek an alternative.
”This is my new car,” Jorindo said as he unwrapped his brand-new black bicycle, partly funded by his employer, a security company.
”For us there is no other way. This is now my only mean of getting around,” said Jorindo, who will now be cycling the eight kilometres to work near downtown Harare from his home in Kuwadzana township on the capital’s western oustkirts.
On a good day, said Jorindo, it could take him between half-an-hour and forty minutes to get to work using public transport.
On a bad day, when long queues form at the bus stop because there are fewer buses, it can take up to three hours, he said.
Jorindo is one of the lucky ones who lives fairly close to town.
”Some people cycle in a round trip that takes them from places like Chitungwiza to Ruwa [townships south of Harare] to work and back, culminating in a trip of up to 100km per day,” said Laster Chihuri (36) a fellow security guard.
In downtown Harare the bicycle business is booming, dealers said.
”The fuel crisis is definitely having a major influence as more and more people turn to cycling,” said Yunis Mahomed, owner of Manica Cycles, the capital’s oldest bicycle shop.
He said companies especially were buying bicyles for their workers, mainly in an effort to cut down on the time it takes people to get to work.
”The only problem is that I’m battling to replenish my stock. It’s difficult when you sell, say 200 bicycles this month, and there’s no foreign currency to buy more,” Mahomed said.
Zimbabwe has been in the throes of a severe fuel crisis since late April when a foreign currency crunch began wreaking havoc on petrol imports.
The crisis has crippled municipal and emergency services in Harare, with only one fire engine in operation, and city authorities have admitted they have bought fuel on the black market to keep afloat, the state-run Herald newspaper reported last month.
Two weeks ago, opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai began walking the eight kilometres to work to protest the fuel shortages.
Ordinary Zimbabweans are faced with few choices but to start peddling.
Said security guard Chihuri: ”Cycling should be practised for the sake of enjoying, not for the sake of surviving.” – Sapa-AFP