RTA fails to control overcharging

RAWALPINDI: Even though Eidul Azha has ended, a great deal of rush has been witnessed at the bus stands of the garrison city with people returning from their native towns after celebrating the Eid holidays with their families. However, the transporters continued to fleece passengers, charging them separately for their luggage and the Rawalpindi Transport Authority (RTA) failed to control the transporters. All the buses returning to Pirwadhai, General and other private bus stands were packed with passengers. Owing to an unusual influx of passengers, most of them had to resort to spots on the roof of buses to reach their destinations. The plight of the passengers did not end here, after paying hiked fares for buses, they were made to pay heavy fares for taxis and rickshaws to take them to their destinations in the city. The problems faced by residents of the city multiplied after local route buses plied on longer routes before the Eid holidays.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2019.