MAZHANDU BUSES A DEATH TRAP!

[Amazed!]

Dear Zambia,

I have been a frequent user of Mazhandu buses from the first time they introduced the Copperbelt route and have enjoyed the safety and timeliness of their buses.

Now imagine my horror as my husband and i were driving from Kitwe to Lusaka on the road nearing Mandevu area. This Mazhandu bus license plate number ALC 5404 overtook four cars, ours included, against on-coming traffic! This happened on 3rd August around 18hrs. My husband and i including the other 3 drivers had to go off the road while this bus carelessly without concern started joining our lane irregardless of the fact that other cars were already in that lane!

Surely something has got to be done about such irresponsible drivers before more innocent people die on the road!

[Samo]

to me, the biggest problem are those passengers on buses who don't say anything when they see their driver doing such reckless things. Maybe they feel good that they will arrive quickly, but they don't realize that they could also arrive quickly to their graves.

[carlos]

A big bus has entered your lane heading towards you, but you have the time and composure to get its number plate? it wasn't you driving I hope.

[Guest]

Passenger Anvela manone kabili

[by]

Amazed!

You seem to have more than enough info to report this bus driver to his bosses. Unless you are saying his bosses don't give a f*ck either. And where are the traffic cops when you need them?

[Amazed!]

@ Carlos

i think you kinda got the wrong scenario, we (as in my husband and i) and the other three drivers were in the lane heading for Lusaka back to back. Our car was directly in front of the Mazhandu bus (he was heading for lusaka too). Thats the point where the bus driver decided to over-take our car, the car in front of us and the other two smaller cars ahead,even though there was on-coming traffic in the opposite direction (heading towards chisamba-kabwe). This is why we all had to pull off the road coz he started getting back into our lane, even though we were occupying the lane. I was taking footage of the bus coz his driving had been erratic even before he over-took us.

@ by by

We reported the incident to the traffic cops by the first traffic stop along the mandevu road but they pretty much tsk-ed and forgot about it

[by]

Amazed!

I can tell you that you did a wise move to drive defensively. Some drivers don't get it. If they think they are right, they will not give way even if the other vehicle is 5 times the size of theirs. If you are not careful on these roads, you could be right and dead at the same time.

Anyway, your story is truly unfortunate on many levels. The danger to other motorists, that these bus drivers are causing. The indifference of the cops. and most likely even if you report the driver to his company management, they will give you the same attitude as the cops. It's even possible they encourage their drivers to drive recklessly like that so they meet a certain deadline. From top to bottom, this whole scenario stinks like hell.

[Guest]

Juldan is worse

Email sent to them but no reply yet.

To whom it may concern.

I travelled from kasama yesterday afternoon and found many aspects of the trip disturbing.
The scheduled departure time was 3.30pm and we had all boarded b that time but found the company had over booked the bus by 2 seats causing a delay of over 30 mins as conductors tried to find out why.
The bus stopped 20 mins outside Kasama and all passengers tickets were taken for a recount losing another 15 mins travel time.
Tickets were then handed back to customers and the issue of 2 people not having seats was not solved.
Once arriving at Mpika there was a short break for toilets and food.
The bus left very quickly without warning and i was nearly left behind.
Once we left there there was 3 people sitting in the aisle of the bus most likely due to over booking once again.
The serious moment came when reaching Kapiri Mposhi weighbridge as the bus stopped to make 8 people get off to make the bus lighter.
Once thru the weighbridge those passengers got back on the bus at the filling station across the road.
This was highly illegal and fruadulent actions by the staff of Juldan.
Normally the bus will stop here for a toilet break as time past since Mpika is approx 6hrs.
When asking the conductor if there was going to be a break? I was told it would be at Kabwe which is 7hrs from Mpika.
There were many frustrated passengers who had to hold thier bladders for too long.
What made the trip more unpleasurable was the driver stopped somewhere near serenje in the middle of nowhere for 10mins to do something and done this a few times near Kabwe,also 20km from lusaka and just entering the edge of lusaka suburbs.
Each time only the driver got off to do something.
As the bus reached emmasdale the bus pulled over to let passengers off so i had decided this was the best time to stop wasting my time and caught a taxi to my destination.
You need to maintain the bus a lot better as some windows on the bus do not close causing discomfort to passengers.
You need to make sure only legal amount of passengers have been sold tickets.
I'm not sure if Zambians are used to poor service but the 6 foreigners travelling yesterday were not impressed by the service Juldan provided.
Please improve the Kasama/Lusaka service or you will find that you will have less returning customers like me.
I have made a decision never to travel on your bus again.

From disgruntled passenger.
Considering informing RTSA of broken laws of the trip.

[Anxiety on Road Safety]

A report filed by the public to RTSA and owners on these errant public service vehicle drivers and even on other road users if followed up could alert everybody involved of the seriousness attached to road safety. It's not like the person reporting would not be requested to provide such details as vehicle type and number, place of traffic violation and, time. At least all road users would be careful that someone is watching. Where we have traffic check points couldn't these be provided with phones such that motorists could report ahead and get a defaulter detained if they don't own up of having behaved badly while moving along the road. Maybe this would be one way of protecting the traveling public.

[Katundu]

Guest, to be honest with you I don't think I woulda replied to your rumbling e-mail had I been the big cheese over there at Juldan? is it??

First of all, you are not concise. Then you complain too much and even contradict yourself. You complain about a 30mins delay here and a 15mins delay there. Then when it's time to pee and eat, you complain that the bus left too quickly. You wanted more time to eat and to pee.

Anyway, keep checking your inbox. Maybe you will get a response with an offer of a full refund. Or maybe you will be black-listed and forbidden to ride that bus in the future. Good luck.

[concerned]

Samo wrote :
> to me, the biggest problem are those passengers on buses who don't say
> anything when they see their driver doing such reckless things. Maybe they
> feel good that they will arrive quickly, but they don't realize that they
> could also arrive quickly to their graves.



on top of this...they have now horrible services especially those guys at intercity in lusaka...they will lie and treat you like trash when you have paid

[Observer]

@Guest
If what you have explained really happened then it's quite unfortunate. I have been on the Juldan buses a few times and to tell you the truth I am yet to see what you experienced. I have been to Nakonde on 6 or 7 occasions but as I have said I am yet to have a bad experience on these buses. I don't know how many times you have boarded these buses but I guess that was just a one off thing by excited crew members. I have someone I know who runs those big buses and if an incident like that happens they get fired!!!

[Observer]

I hope Juldan does the same to deter these crew members from torturing passengers..

[Terrified]

YES!!!! Thank you so much for also complaining! Please search for my letter about Mazhandu. I will never ever set foot on one of their busses ever again. Their bus drivers have a serious superiority complex, they are rude and drive extremely recklessly. They also greet and all police officers on the way by name and you have no chance of any police officer even listening to you. I have called their line to complain whilst on the bus. Even though they call the driver to drive better, next time you will find the same driver using the same tricks and NOBODY else on that bus will complain. I have been told to shut up and sit down and even though begging to be let off, they refused to stop. I would suggest we all if we have a passenger, ask the passenger to use their phone video recorder and record people who drive like this. Get the phone numbers of all roadblocks if you travel regularly and phone ahead and tell them you have the evidence. Then you insist on seeing that person charged. We have no choice, RTSA and traffice police are doing nothing.

[dissapointed]

just arrived from lusaka on a Mazhandu Bus around 17hrs and I have to say this..this driver was also reckless in his overtaking...Something should be done mwe

[Irked]

this Mazhandu piece of junk sounds like another operation run by a PF thieving cadre. They are the only ones who fear no consequences these days

[Lucky2BAlive]

I travelled from Livingstone to Lusaka in one of these buses. It felt like we were travelling fast so I turned on my GPS. We were travelling at 159km/h! Absolutely crazy!

[Mark Masungu]

My wife came very close to death yesterday, on the Kitwe to Lusaka route. Bus overtook a stationary truck right in the path of an oncoming petrol tanker. The two vehicles actually scraped each other quite badly and the bus ended up off the road in the bush. Two or three more inches to the right - and 70 people would have been incinerated. The answer is simple, but it would cost: legalise for drivers' hours and speed limits and enforce these by installing tachographs in every bus. These record everything the driver and bus does, and cannot lie. It is illegal to drive a bus (or truck, and they would be the next target) any distance without a tachograph in Europe. Zambia is the 11th most dangerous country in the world to drive in terms of road deaths. All we need is for Parliament to make legislation. Yes it may put bus fares up, but then it would save lives. If enough of us complained to our MPs, something might be done.
The other solution is to bring back passenger rail services in Zambia. This is the one I prefer.

[Chipembele]

Mark mwana,
I'm here at the beer hall drinking away so was only able to read your first line. Praise God your wife is alive. I wish you all the best.

[Shalapungu and ka zambia intercourse]

Just buy and ride in your own vehicles imwe. That's the problem with you Zambians. You fail to work hard and buy cars. You shall forever be stuck with reckless Mazandu or whatever you call it buses.

Yes, that's how those two have intercourse. It wasn't me, sorry.