Bus fare hike: Commuters pay through the nose to celebrate Eid with loved ones
Authorities make a show of taking action against transporters but the reality is quite different
DESIGN: JAMAL KHURSHID
KARACHI:
Their foreheads beaded with sweat, the passengers peered out of the bus’ window, awaiting their journey to begin. The sound of the engine revving up propelled their excitement levels to rise further. Despite knowing that the journey would be long and tiresome, they looked forward to it. After all, they would be celebrating Eid with their loved ones, though at a price much higher than they would pay otherwise.
Karachi is home away from home for many. Every year, people from across Pakistan come and settle in the city, in search of better economic opportunities and a large number of them leave the metropolis for their hometowns as Eid draws closer.
Travelling in overloaded buses, spending a considerable amount on bus fares and bearing the inconvenience of a tiresome journey, they still look forward to meeting their dear ones and celebrating Eid in their company. And eventually, once they reach their destinations, the discomfort and exhaustion of the long hours of commute fades in front of the elation of reuniting with their families.
Annual pilgrimage
This annual pilgrimage, which begins with the onset of Ramazan, sees the number of travellers scaling up with each passing day, with most preferring to leave for their hometowns during the last ten days of the holy moth, right before Eid. During these days, bus terminals are crowded with families travelling from Karachi to mainly upper Sindh, followed by Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
However, their spirit is dampened by the unwarranted increase in bus fares.
Amid the festivity surrounding the occasion, transporters see an opportunity to increase their income, escalating the cost of fares for intercity travel. Consequently, individuals and families travelling to their hometowns, and unable to afford air travel, are left with little choice but to let the transporters loot them, being forced to pay increased bus fare.
Distance no longer remains a parameter to calculate the fare. No matter how near or distant the destination is, passengers are forced to pay fares the transporters deem fit.
As this scenario plays out, the government seems to be playing the role of a silent spectator.
Although, to its credit, Sindh Government did announce to initiate a wide-scale operation against transporters collecting additional fares this year.
According to Sindh provincial transport authority secretary, transport authorities have imposed a collective fine of Rs76,000, on transporters found to be charging excess fares during snap traffic checking in Quaidabad and Steel Town on May 30. A total of 52 vehicles were checked, out of which 38 were challenged and owners and drivers of 11 vehicles were warned against charging excess fares.
The authorities also returned a collective amount of Rs125,600 to the passengers who had paid excess fares.
However, despite these claims by the government, passengers are still dissatisfied with the results. They are still forced to pay the excess fare and said that transporters continue to charge them heavily in the absence any solid action being taken by the government. Apparently, more needs to be done to curb the bus fare hike.
The hike
According to a survey conducted by The Express Tribune, bus fares for travelling from Karachi to Islamabad have escalated to Rs3,300 per passenger, which is the same amount charged from those travelling shorter distances- from the metropolis to Talangang and Chakwal. Before Ramazan, a journey from Karachi to either of these areas would cost no more than Rs800.
Similarly, people travelling to nearer destinations, such as Sukkur, Larkana and Khairpur, have to pay Rs800 as a price for spending Eid with their loved ones.
Moreover, those looking forward to spend Eid in Muzaffarbad and Abbotabad are not faring any better. Passengers travelling to Muzaffarabad are charged Rs3,000 and the ones travelling to Abbotabad are required to pay Rs2,800.
Regardless of the distance, bus travel to more distant cities like Peshawar, Swat, Buner and Bajaur, also costs around Rs3,000 to Rs3,200, after an increase of about Rs700 in the fares. For those travelling further up north to Gilgit and Baltistan, the fare adds up to Rs5,000, after an addition of Rs1000 to the original fare.
Similarly, with Eid just round the corner, travelling to Quetta and Pishin in Balochistan is likely to cost an individual Rs2,500 and Rs2,000 respectively.
The justification
Most transporters justify the price hike in bus fares during Ramazan, saying that over-crowded buses travelling to other cities from Karachi return almost empty. Covering long distances without any passengers results in a loss for the transporters and increasing fares before Eid is how they manage to compensate for the loss.
Naveed Mughal, a representative of the Gul Kashmir Transport Company, however, gives a different reason for the increase in fares.
The company was forced to increase the fare due to rise in the prices of diesel and spare parts, he said, claiming that had the prices not risen, the company would still be charging the same amount approved by the government, as it did before Ramazan.
Muhammad Asif, a representative of another transport company, Pakistan Express, explained the increase in bus fares on account of special services, including meals and cold drinks being served to the passengers. He was particularly speaking with reference to travel from Karachi to Islamabad.
Nevertheless, passengers seemed to have made peace with the annual hike in bus fares and the efforts made by Sindh Government to curb the increase in fares has proven to be a futile step in their opinion. “We are still paying the additional amount,” said the passengers.
Several attempts to were made to contact Transport Secretary Ghulam Abbas, transport deputy secretary, provincial transport authority secretary and Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani but they were unavailable for comment.
Edited by Mariam Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, June 1st, 2019.
Their foreheads beaded with sweat, the passengers peered out of the bus’ window, awaiting their journey to begin. The sound of the engine revving up propelled their excitement levels to rise further. Despite knowing that the journey would be long and tiresome, they looked forward to it. After all, they would be celebrating Eid with their loved ones, though at a price much higher than they would pay otherwise.
Karachi is home away from home for many. Every year, people from across Pakistan come and settle in the city, in search of better economic opportunities and a large number of them leave the metropolis for their hometowns as Eid draws closer.
Travelling in overloaded buses, spending a considerable amount on bus fares and bearing the inconvenience of a tiresome journey, they still look forward to meeting their dear ones and celebrating Eid in their company. And eventually, once they reach their destinations, the discomfort and exhaustion of the long hours of commute fades in front of the elation of reuniting with their families.
Annual pilgrimage
This annual pilgrimage, which begins with the onset of Ramazan, sees the number of travellers scaling up with each passing day, with most preferring to leave for their hometowns during the last ten days of the holy moth, right before Eid. During these days, bus terminals are crowded with families travelling from Karachi to mainly upper Sindh, followed by Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
However, their spirit is dampened by the unwarranted increase in bus fares.
Amid the festivity surrounding the occasion, transporters see an opportunity to increase their income, escalating the cost of fares for intercity travel. Consequently, individuals and families travelling to their hometowns, and unable to afford air travel, are left with little choice but to let the transporters loot them, being forced to pay increased bus fare.
Distance no longer remains a parameter to calculate the fare. No matter how near or distant the destination is, passengers are forced to pay fares the transporters deem fit.
As this scenario plays out, the government seems to be playing the role of a silent spectator.
Although, to its credit, Sindh Government did announce to initiate a wide-scale operation against transporters collecting additional fares this year.
According to Sindh provincial transport authority secretary, transport authorities have imposed a collective fine of Rs76,000, on transporters found to be charging excess fares during snap traffic checking in Quaidabad and Steel Town on May 30. A total of 52 vehicles were checked, out of which 38 were challenged and owners and drivers of 11 vehicles were warned against charging excess fares.
The authorities also returned a collective amount of Rs125,600 to the passengers who had paid excess fares.
However, despite these claims by the government, passengers are still dissatisfied with the results. They are still forced to pay the excess fare and said that transporters continue to charge them heavily in the absence any solid action being taken by the government. Apparently, more needs to be done to curb the bus fare hike.
The hike
According to a survey conducted by The Express Tribune, bus fares for travelling from Karachi to Islamabad have escalated to Rs3,300 per passenger, which is the same amount charged from those travelling shorter distances- from the metropolis to Talangang and Chakwal. Before Ramazan, a journey from Karachi to either of these areas would cost no more than Rs800.
Similarly, people travelling to nearer destinations, such as Sukkur, Larkana and Khairpur, have to pay Rs800 as a price for spending Eid with their loved ones.
Moreover, those looking forward to spend Eid in Muzaffarbad and Abbotabad are not faring any better. Passengers travelling to Muzaffarabad are charged Rs3,000 and the ones travelling to Abbotabad are required to pay Rs2,800.
Regardless of the distance, bus travel to more distant cities like Peshawar, Swat, Buner and Bajaur, also costs around Rs3,000 to Rs3,200, after an increase of about Rs700 in the fares. For those travelling further up north to Gilgit and Baltistan, the fare adds up to Rs5,000, after an addition of Rs1000 to the original fare.
Similarly, with Eid just round the corner, travelling to Quetta and Pishin in Balochistan is likely to cost an individual Rs2,500 and Rs2,000 respectively.
The justification
Most transporters justify the price hike in bus fares during Ramazan, saying that over-crowded buses travelling to other cities from Karachi return almost empty. Covering long distances without any passengers results in a loss for the transporters and increasing fares before Eid is how they manage to compensate for the loss.
Naveed Mughal, a representative of the Gul Kashmir Transport Company, however, gives a different reason for the increase in fares.
The company was forced to increase the fare due to rise in the prices of diesel and spare parts, he said, claiming that had the prices not risen, the company would still be charging the same amount approved by the government, as it did before Ramazan.
Muhammad Asif, a representative of another transport company, Pakistan Express, explained the increase in bus fares on account of special services, including meals and cold drinks being served to the passengers. He was particularly speaking with reference to travel from Karachi to Islamabad.
Nevertheless, passengers seemed to have made peace with the annual hike in bus fares and the efforts made by Sindh Government to curb the increase in fares has proven to be a futile step in their opinion. “We are still paying the additional amount,” said the passengers.
Several attempts to were made to contact Transport Secretary Ghulam Abbas, transport deputy secretary, provincial transport authority secretary and Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani but they were unavailable for comment.
Edited by Mariam Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, June 1st, 2019.