No cut in transport fares despite cut in fuel prices

Commuters continue to pay extra as transporters refuse to slash fares

RAWALPINDI:

Intra-city transporters have expressed their reluctance to reduce fares and continue to fleece commuters.

After the decrease in petroleum products, Rawalpindi Commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal had directed all the deputy commissioners to negotiate with transporters for the reduction in fares themselves, otherwise, the government will release the list of fares.

However, the authorities have failed to convince transporters to reduce the fares nor any official notification could be issued in this regard.

Last month, the public transporters had unilaterally increased the fares by Rs10 per litre after an increase in petroleum prices.

Commuters are still paying the same fares even after the reduction in POL prices by Rs10 a litre.

Due to the continuous increase in goods transport fares, the prices of food items have increased drastically. The prices of bread, milk and yoghurt have also become beyond the reach of citizens.

In view of the reduction in the prices of petroleum products in the global market, the federal government had announced a reduction in the price of petrol by Rs18.50 per litre and prices of high-speed diesel by Rs40.54, light diesel by Rs34.71 and kerosene oil by Rs33.81 per litre.

As soon as the reduction in petroleum products was announced, Rawalpindi Commissioner Nurul Amin Mengal had instructed deputy commissioners of the entire region to immediately negotiate with public and goods transporters to reduce the fares so that the citizens could benefit from it.

Sources in the district administration told The Express Tribune that the transporters have shown their reluctance not to reduce the fares and have conveyed their message to the district administration.

Intra-city public transporters including buses, pickups, wagons, taxis and rickshaws continue to charge extra fares from the citizens.

Similarly, inter-city transporters have also not reduced fares claiming that due to the recent appreciation of the dollar, prices of spare parts have increased.

They claimed that the reduction in fares was not just linked to the reduction in petroleum products alone. They said that the government should set up a body at the provincial level to regulate fares, which includes the representation of transporters. They said that unless the government takes the transporters into confidence, reduction in fares was nigh impossible.

Consumers also have to bear the brunt of the increased goods transport fares. The recent increase in prices of vegetables, fruits, chicken, milk, yoghurt, flour and other items is mainly due to an increase in goods transport fares. The price of bread has gone up to Rs15, yeast bread Rs20 and naan at Rs25.

The price of milk has reached Rs150 per litre and the price of yoghurt has increased from Rs140 per kg to Rs160 per kg.

The spokesman of the district administration said that the Rawalpindi commissioner was actively working to bring the benefit of the reduction in the prices of petroleum products to the people.

He said that the district administration was trying to settle the matter amicably and once an agreement with the transporters was reached, no one will be allowed to charge extra fares.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2022.