State owned telecommunications company Zamtel has entered into an agreement with Mazhandu Family Bus Services for the provision of Free Wi-Fi on all its buses.
Zamtel has since installed free on-board Wi-Fi across the entire Mazhandu fleet which services routes from Chililabombwe to Livingstone.
Passengers on Mazhandu will also be able to pay for their tickets using ZamPay, the country’s first ever Quick Response (QR) code payment platform.
To increase efficiency and improve customer service, Zamtel is also setting up a dedicated Closed User Group for Mazhandu to allow for cheaper and cost effective communications for bus crews and the administration staff.
Announcing the partnership in Lusaka today, Zamtel Head of Corporate and Government Relations Reuben Kamanga said the introduction of free Wi-Fi on public transports will undoubtedly increase passenger flow.
Mr Kamanga is confident that the partnership will encourage people to opt for public transportation by leveraging free on-board Wi-Fi, given the increasing demand for Wi-Fi on transport services.
He said there is now a great demand for transport companies to provide an all-encompassing Wi-Fi solution to allow for a seamless transition from home, office to travel.
“As Zamtel, we continue to provide digital solutions that enrich our customers lives and we are happy that this partnership will change public transport experience in Zambia. Additionally, the convenience of paying for bus fares electronically through ZamPay will further enhance customer experience,” Mr Kamanga added.
And Mazhandu Family Bus Services Director Justine Mazhandu hailed Zamtel for the partnership saying the provision of digital amenities will increase ridership.
Mr Mazhandu added that the partnership will further position the company as a leader in the local public transport services sector.
“We move on average 1,200 passenger daily and we have observed that digital amenities are increasingly impacting our passengers who need to access free Wi-Fi to run many tasks such as check emails, listen to music, send text messages, stream videos, use social networks while travelling,” Mr Mazhandu said.
He added, “For the Livingstone route for instance, we serve a lot of tourists who can benefit from free Wi-Fi en route on buses in order to get in contact with their families or access their social networks to share pictures of the tourist sites with their friends.”
Let us keep moving forward and leave skeptics behind.
Especially those who think that having a lot of cattle makes presidential material.
When is Zamtel going to partner with Miles Sampa?
Am enjoying Miles Sampa’s Free Wi Fi !!!!!
Has Mr Mazhandu come back from retirement? He’s the only one with a niche for such innovation, bena Japhet are just good at deceiving women. Kudos to Mazhandu Family Buses, they are now a household name in passenger transport. May God grant you a longer life. Chimuzhinga, Chisambi, Mabena, Mudadi, Chipungai, Chigubbu, wound up long ago but Mazhandu is still going strong
Is this the free wifi promised by Miles Sampa?
Good move, keep it up for both companies
Free WiFi in a moving coffin? Too many fatal accidents with this operator!
@danielle, Pull Him Down Mentality (PHD). Tamwakaleke ? Lets learn to appreciate.
This is good news for the travelling public. However zamtel data coverage between towns is pathetic so it will be pointless to provide a service which won’t even work. Zamtel service within towns is fantastic but they need to roll it out on the highways.
What is free WiFi? Enticing passengers with free Internet Access via WiFi? U can hav WiFi as WLAN on but no internet access for desktops, smartphones, tablets laptops & printer devices.
Better call it MiFi since the buses are mobile.
This e-ticketing will be self-service via zampay platform by potential travelers from their handsets? No ticketing officer!Hope ZamPay will also show timetables otherwise total confusion!
PowerTools uses similar one by DotCom but is mostly nonfunctional. They always resort to manual tickets.