Intercity transporters increase fares

Move comes after suspension of railway operations

RAWALPINDI:

As train operations remain partially suspended owing to  flooding  of  tracks,  private  transport  operators  have  increased  intercity fares to fleece stranded  passengers.

Railway operations have been  suspended  between  Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Karachi as a result of flooding  of  tracks  in  southern  Punjab and Sindh.

Private  transporters  in  Rawalpindi  have  started  demanding exorbitant rates from travellers heading  to  different  cities including Karachi and Hyderabad.

Private transporters charge  between  Rs6,000  and  Rs7,000  for  a  single  trip  from  Rawalpindi  to  Karachi.Passengers going to Karachi said that touts of transporters roam  at  the Rawalpindi railway station and offer their services. 

Travellers who need to go immediately were compelled to accept their offer.
These touts of transporters take them to bus stations at  Faizabad,  Pirwadhai,  Peshawar  Mor  and  Sadar for booking. Passengers at Pirwadhai bus  stand,  Gul  Khan  and Masoom Jan said that buses charge Rs6,000 for a single trip  from  Rawalpindi  to Karachi.

They said that passengers were compelled to pay the high  fares  as  trains  were  not operating.

Transporter Mahmood Bashir said:  "We  are  putting  our  lives  and  our  vehicles in danger by riding stranded passengers to their homes safely as train and  other  transport  services have been shut down for the past 10 days.“All passengers board vehicles willingly. "We never compel  anyone  to  do  so.  Passengers have their own compulsions but transporters  are  serving  the  passengers  by  risking  their own  lives  at  risk  to  reach them to their destinations safely,” he said.

Pakistan Railway sources said  that  the  train  service between Lahore, Rawalpindi  and  Karachi  was expected to be restored in the next 48 hours.

Pakistan  Railways  has  partially suspended its operations  as  heavy  rains  and floods continue to pummel different parts of he country.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, while addressing a  press  conference,  said  that they have suspended operations  because  of  the  
importance of the passengers’ lives.He said that due to floods, the  department  has  suffered a loss of Rs10 billion.

The  minister  said  that they have decided to close a part of ML-1, whereby the operations  of  the  passenger trains will be partially suspended. 

Similarly,  he  added, train operations between Lahore and Karachi have been stopped.He further said that the  train  running  from Peshawar will be limited to Multan while the train operations between Khanpur and Hyderabad will remain suspended.

He added that railway  tracks  are  inundated with rainwater.In  June,  local  transporters in Rawalpindi and Islamabad  had  jacked  up  the intra-city fare by up to Rs20  without  waiting  for  the official nod.

Transporters running hiaces and mini-wagons between the twin cities have increased  the  fare  from  Rs30 to Rs50. Local transporters including  mini-busses,  wagons and Suzuki pick-ups in Rawalpindi have increased stop-to-stop fare from Rs20 to Rs30, an increase of Rs10 in one week.