As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf continues to up the ante against the government with marchers on GT Road, private transport operators including goods transporters have jacked up intercity fares to fleece stranded passengers.
Private transporters in Rawalpindi have started charging exorbitant rates from travellers heading to different cities including Jhelum, Chakwal, Jhang and Lahore. As the PTI’s long march moves at a snail’s pace on GT Road, public and goods transporters have arbitrarily increased in fares.
With the increase in goods transport fares, the prices of food items have also gone up in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The PTI's long Lahore for Islamabad on October 28 via GT Road and according to the earlier schedule, the marchers were supposed to reach the federal capital in eight days. However, the continuous change in the schedule and the slow pace of the rally has badly affected public and goods transport on GT Road.
Transporters have increased intercity bus fares by Rs250, causing inconvenience to passengers going from twin cities to Jhelum, Gujarat, Gujranwala and Faisalabad via GT Road.
Public transporter Haji Tufail said that the main reason for the increase in fares was the choking of the GT Road by the long marchers at various places.
He said that buses get stuck in the long march and it takes several hours to get out of it and as a result, vehicles consume extra fuel.
He claimed that transporters were already incurring losses because of the static fares, they could afford no further losses.
Bus fares from Faizabad bus terminal to Lahore via GT Road have been increased from Rs1,100 to Rs1,300. Similarly, fares for other cities have also been increased arbitrarily.
Saghir Butt, a passenger going to Gujranwala via GT Road from Pirwadhai bus terminal, said that the public transporters had earlier increased the fares due to the increase in the prices of petroleum products and now the rents have been increased on the pretext of the long march. He said that the common man was bearing the brunt of the PTI’s long march.
Read Pindi put on high alert ahead of PTI's march
On the other hand, goods transporters said that trucks and mini-trucks use the GT Road but owing to the PTI's long march, the Lahore-Islamabad section of the road has badly been affected, causing perishable items to rot.
They said because of the disruption, the delivery of goods including food items was getting delayed, which was causing losses to both the transporters and the buyers. The Regional Transport Authority said that the increase in the fares by justifying the long march on the GT Road was not acceptable. It said that passengers should lodge complaints against the transporters who ask for extra fares and strict action will be taken against them.
On the other hand, PTI Chairperson Imran Khan has said that his long march will continue for the next 10 months.
"Nobody should think our movement will end in Islamabad, it will continue for the next 10 months until we don't have elections," the former premier said while addressing the long march participants in Gujranwala on Wednesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2022.
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