Eid holidays: Bus, train stations jammed by Lahore leavers

Passengers complain of illegal ticket price hikes by transporters.

LAHORE:

The city’s bus and rail stations thronged with desperate passengers on Sunday as thousands of people sought to reach their families outside Lahore in time for Eidul Azha. Many bus companies took advantage of the situation by raising fares.

Lahore is home to hundreds of thousands of workers from rural areas and other Punjab towns and there is a similar exodus before each Eid. As demand for bus seats increases, so does the temptation for transporters to drive up ticket prices. Demand for intercity buses has also gone up in recent months alongside the deterioration in Pakistan Railways services.

The Regional Transport Authority fixes ticket prices for non air-conditioned buses, but a transporter association decides the fare for AC buses according to petrol prices.

The Badami Bagh bus terminal, Bund Road bus terminal and other D-class bus stations were packed on Sunday, while there were also long queues at the reservation office at the City Railway Station. Many passengers turned away from the railway station rushed to the bus terminals and vice versa.

Ali Muhammad stood in line with his family at the reservation office at the rail station, hoping to get a train to Khanewal. “The bus fares are too high. The bus owners were also demanding I buy tickets for my kids whereas in the train I won’t have to. I know the condition of the trains is really bad but the journey is not too long,” he said.

Sajjad Haider awaited a bus to Bahawalpur at Badami Bagh bus terminal. He said that his bus was running behind schedule. “I’ve heard that all the exit points are jammed because of the cattle markets. I don’t think I will get home until late night,” he said. Haider said that he had tried to negotiate the price of the bus ticket, but it was no use. “They just tell you to go find another bus company if you try to bargain. They know people are desperate,” he said.

Waseem Ahmad, who manages a bus company, said that fares had been revised due to fuel price rises. He said though the buses leaving Lahore ahead of Eid were packed with passengers, these same buses would make the return journey almost empty. “No one ever mentions that,” he said.

He said that the Lorry Adda administration and Punjab Transport Authority have an effective check on ticket prices for AC buses, but the checking of ticket prices on non-AC buses was lax. Badami Bagh bus terminal administrator Arshad Bhatti conceded that there was some overcharging going on, but added that they were doing their best to stop it. “When a passenger complains to us, we immediately take action against the transporter,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th,  2011.