Desperate times: Despite court orders, transport fares still high

The government had announced to cut fares, check overcharging from November 1.

PESHAWAR:

Despite the provincial government’s announcement to check overcharging and cut intra-district fares by 20 to 30 per cent in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), passengers are still suffering at the hands of transporters.

Following the Supreme Court orders to decrease gas prices by around Rs30 per kilogram, K-P Regional Transport Authority (RTA) revised the fare list for intra-district public transport, bringing down fares from November 1 onwards.

K-P Transport Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain warned of strict action against transporters found overcharging, while RTA Secretary Naseem Khan announced a province-wide crackdown against them.

However, transporters at the Kohat Bus Terminal, from where vehicles ply the whole southern districts of the province, continued charging exorbitant fares on Friday.

A Hiace driver, Mujahid Badshah, was of the view that transporters are unwilling to charge less in the face of high prices of daily commodities. “How can we charge less when it is hard to make ends meet at home,” he argued.

Shafiq Khan from Bannu was neutral about the issue. “Charging extra fares is not justified, and I am not supposed to scuffle over it. The government should ensure implementation of the new fares instead of letting common man to fight over it,” he maintained.

Though RTA officials attempted to bust vehicles found overcharging on the first day of the implementation of the new fares, but that was done on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway only, while transporters plying vehicles in the southern districts of K-P remained unchecked.

Despite repeated attempts, RTA secretary and transport minister could not be reached for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2012.