Panic exodus from South Africa triggers predatory pricing on cross-border bus routes

Cross-border transport operators exploited a mass exodus of Zimbabweans fleeing xenophobic violence in South Africa, doubling fares on the Johannesburg-Bulawayo route from R600 to R1,200 as demand surged. The predatory pricing trapped fleeing migrants between anti-immigrant mobs and unaffordable escape routes, with travelers reporting they had no choice but to pay the inflated costs. The crisis deepened after a repatriation bus carrying Malawians crashed near Beitbridge, killing the driver, as fatigued operators struggled to meet the chaotic demand spike driven by the March and March movement's protest calendar.