It is seven in the morning, and youth who work as drivers are standing beside their cars at Shahrak Terminal in Nili, the capital of Daikundi province. Some are drinking tea, while others silently stare at the road that runs through the mountains of Daikundi toward Kandahar and Kabul. Only occasionally does a passenger enter the terminal, ask about the fare, and leave again. Waiting has become a major part of these drivers’ daily lives—a difficult wait that sometimes lasts for days.
Mohammad Sarwar, a 35-year-old driver, has been driving on the Daikundi–Kandahar route for more than a decade. He leaves home every morning, but on many days, he returns home at night without finding even a single passenger.
“I come to the terminal in the morning, spend 60 to 150 Afghanis a day, and return home at night. My wife and children ask me, ‘How much did you earn today?’ I tell them, ‘Nothing. There was no work today either.’ In the past 40 days, I have had only one turn to transport passengers, and I earned about 5,000 Afghanis in total,” he says.
He complains about the rising price of fuel, low fares, and the high costs of driving. He says there are no fixed fare rates in Daikundi, and there is not even a price list for basic goods. He adds that even small changes in regional markets affect the lives of people in the province.
“If there is a war in Iran or oil prices rise in global markets, the price of fuel in Daikundi immediately goes up, but people’s incomes remain the same,” he adds.
Ali Mohammad, another 36-year-old driver, is sitting beside his car. He has been working on the routes between Daikundi, Kabul, and Kandahar for six years and says that these days, he spends most of his time waiting.
“I leave home in the morning and come to the terminal hoping to find passengers. Sometimes weeks pass without finding any passengers. Even if I find six or seven passengers, the income only covers part of the costs,” he says.
He also complains about the rising prices of fuel and car spare parts. He says,
“A spare part that used to cost 3,000 Afghanis now costs 10,000 Afghanis. My family tells me to quit this job, but I do not know any other job, and there is no other work available.”
Mohammad, a 25-year-old cargo truck driver in Nili, also says that poor road conditions are the main challenge in his work.
“If a customer does not call, I go into the city and wait. Some days there is work, and some days there is not. Once, my vehicle broke down in the middle of the road, and I waited for hours until someone came to help me. Most of the money we earn is spent on fuel and vehicle repairs,” he says.
Meanwhile, Cheragh Ali, the former head of the drivers’ union and a representative of a transportation company in Daikundi, says that rising fuel prices, poor road conditions, high taxes, and a shortage of facilities at the terminals are the main problems that drivers face in the province.
“Drivers are charged the same taxes as those at a standard terminal, but here there is neither a proper waiting hall nor a standard restroom for passengers,” he says.
According to him, union officials have repeatedly shared the drivers’ problems with the local administration, but many of their demands have still not been implemented.
Cheragh Ali adds that poor road conditions, especially during winter, threaten the lives of passengers and drivers every year and cause them significant financial losses.
We made efforts to obtain comments from local officials and the Daikundi Transport Department, but we were unsuccessful.
Despite all these challenges, drivers in Daikundi still go to the terminal every morning—not because they are interested in this work, but because they have no other choice. They are calling on the government to pay greater attention to the challenges drivers face.
Until these demands are addressed, Nili Terminal will continue to see men spending hours looking down the road, hoping that perhaps today, unlike yesterday, they will find a passenger and be able to return home with money in their pockets.
Reporter: Anseah Najafi
