Capital’s suburbs: Transporters fleecing rural commuters

Say ITA has turned a blind eye to their miseries; officials claim they strictly enforce rate laws

ISLAMABAD: Rural commuters of the capital feel they are not in the good books of the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), as they complained about ‘exploitative’ overcharging by transporters.

The commuters said transporters operating buses on Route 128 from Sector F-6/1 to Pir Sohawa have set their own rates in violation of the government-issued fares.

Hundreds of people including government employees use public transport to commute between Islamabad and Pir Sohawa, which is 16 kilometres from the capital.

The locals said ITA launched the route in 2013 to facilitate them, but transporters quickly began overcharging.

Muhammad Imran, a local resident and a government clerk, told The Express Tribune that the government has set Rs30 as the fare from Sector F-6/1 to his village near Pir Sohawa, but transporters were charging Rs50. “There is no check on these transporters,” he claimed.

He said that in August 2012, locals and the transporters came to a written agreement, which was also endorsed by the ITA, under which the fares were set between Rs20 and Rs25, but, according to him, the transporters violated the agreement and started charging Rs40 to Rs50.

Muhammad Ishaq, another resident of Pir Sohawa, who is a clerk in the Ministry of Petroleum, said it was becoming increasingly difficult for low income workers to make ends meet after spending so much on transportation.

“I spend almost half of my salary on bus fare,” he claimed, adding, “If the ITA can monitor transporters and enforce fares in urban areas, why can’t it do so the same in rural areas,” he said.

He said further that several complaints have been lodged with the ITA secretary, but to no avail.

The locals added that the same transporters were also plying private Suzuki pick-ups on the route without permits.

ITA Secretary Mariam Mumtaz claimed that on the complaint of locals, many transporters have been penalised and their vehicles impounded for overcharging and other violations.

She also claimed that a ‘specific family’ was continuously complaining about transporters because of their ‘internal rifts’.

“How can I do away with route permits on the complaint of a single family,” she said.

When asked about private Suzuki pick-ups, she said that local drivers were plying them to facilitate those who do not have personal transport.

At the same time, she admitted that rural residents had been facing transport issues which she said the Islamabad chief commissioner was focused on resolving.

Muttahida Transport Union Secretary-General Mustafa Khan claimed that action will be taken against transporters who are overcharging.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2014.