Transporters increase fares

Crosscountry bus services hiked fares by Rs100-250 in the wake of increase in the prices of petroleum products by the caretaker government. Some intercity bus services are also considering to increase the fare by Rs500, booking clerks at Saddar bus terminal said.

According to notices pasted at ticket windows of inter-city bus services, fares from Karachi to Hyderabad, Sehwan, Mehar, and Larkana  climbed by Rs100 to Rs600, RS1,200, Rs400 and Rs1,500, respectively.

Tranporters increased the fares for Shikarpur by Rs200 to Rs1,600. Meanwhile, travelling from Karachi to Naseerabad town of Blochistan now costs  Rs1,400 with an increase of Rs250 

Malik Riyaz, the leader of the Air-Conditioned Bus Owners Association, claims that the government has unjustifiably hiked the fuel prices. He said the transporters managed and did not increase fares last time when the government increased the fuel prices but now it is unavoidable.

He said the fares of air-conditioned automobiles travelling from Karachi to other cities in rural Sindh have increased by Rs100-250 on the basis of distance.

The fares are lower than those set by the ministry of transportation, said transporter head Kamran Minhas. At the moment, they are charging Rs5,500 for the distance of 1,900 km.

Regarding the increase in local bus fares, he said consultation were under way.

Meanwhile, the increase in fares of passenger trains - Fareed Express and Shah Latif Express - by 9 percent came into effect immediately. An official working at ticket counter stated that the fares have increased by 9pc already in their system.

The train fare for Karachi to Lahore has been increased to Rs3,450. Pakistan Railways has also issued a notification of the 10 per cent increase in fares of all mail, express, intercity, shuttle, passenger trains and saloons.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2023.