HARARE - City Link Luxury Bus Company yesterday apologised for the loss of three passengers in an accident near Norton on Wednesday.
The luxury coach, plying the Bulawayo-Harare route, overturned following a head-on collision with a lorry after it was obstructed by smoke from a veld fire. The accident happened around 1330hrs near the Norton tollgate.
Gerald Matapure, the bus company’s general manager, expressed “deepest regret” to families who lost their loved ones.
He said everything would be done to assist them.
“As a company, we put the safety of passengers first and as such we will do all we can as a responsible company to assist the bereaved,” Matapure told the Daily News.
He said contrary to earlier reports, it was actually the lorry that encroached into the bus’s lane as it evaded a bush fire that had caused a thick smoke.
“Our driver was not in the wrong lane — unfortunately, he also passed on in the accident.”
Matapure said the company’s drivers travel in Zimbabwe and within the region, hence they have to possess the right qualifications and experience.
“Elliot Josita, the driver who died, had 23 years experience and was a former VID instructor,” the manager said. “His co-driver has 15 years’ experience.”
He said they were proud of their safety precautions. Since launching the company, this was their first fatal accident.
“Each of our buses operate with two drivers at any given time and all of them have vast experience,” he said. “It is the passengers’ safety that we value most, more than anything else.”
He said his company buses were replaced after every three years.
“We are also very strict on the servicing of the buses and this is done timely,” he said.