KARACHI: With an increasing number of people opting for long route buses instead of railways to visit their hometowns this year, transporters are having a field day by ignoring official rates set by the transport department and charging whatever they want from commuters.
Major bus stands at Cantt Station, Saddar, Liaqutabad and Surhab Goth are crowded with people leaving Karachi to celebrate Eidul Azha with their friends and families in their respective hometowns. However, charges for almost every bus routes from Karachi to rural Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have gone up by as much as 100 per cent. The fare of an air-conditioned coach from Karachi to Peshawar is around Rs1,600, but is going for Rs2,500 these days. Meanwhile, commuters on the Karachi-Larkana buses used to pay Rs600, but are now forced to pay up to Rs1,200.
Karachi’s bus stands are home to nearly 4,000 vehicles that travel to almost all major cities in the country. As many as 1,000 buses leave the city for the rest of the country, excluding Hyderabad, every day. According to deputy secretary of the provincial transport department Ali Nawaz Panhwar, long route air-conditioned buses are supposed to charge Rs1.60 per kilometre. The official rate for non air-conditioned coaches is Rs0.95 per kilometre.
One reason the transporters are able to charge as much is because of the spike in demand for seats. An engineer, Wafa Ali said that he had contacted all coach services that ply on the Larkana-Karachi route, but was unable to find a single seat. Ali and his friends have now decided to rent a car for their journey.
A transporter, who wished to remain unnamed, explained the hike by saying that while the buses were packed as they leave Karachi, they will be almost empty when they return. The higher fares are supposed to balance out the losses incurred due to the coaches’ return journey.
Commuters are also upset over the lack of interest showed by the transport department in ensuring that bus owners charge official fares. Provincial transport secretary Nazar Mohammad Kalhoro was not available for comment.
With additional reporting by Sohail Khattak
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2012.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Same thing done every year Air Plans (All) but you never publish an article, but if its done by our poor transporter you become angry.
This is classic supply and demand isn't it? Happens everywhere! LHR-KHI-LHR costs me £550 normal days but £800+ near christmas. Opportunism is the name of the game on this earth.