Deals on wheels: Transporters make a killing during festival
Charge additional Rs15 to Rs40 along Abbottabad, Mansehra routes
Charge additional Rs15 to Rs40 along Abbottabad, Mansehra routes. DESIGN: TALHA KHAN
HARIPUR:
In a tradition almost as certain as a sacrificial animal’s fate, transporters across Hazara Division overcharged commuters ahead of Eidul Azha and on the three days of the occasion itself.
Transport fares saw a marked increase as people working in various districts travelled back to their native areas to celebrate.
On Wednesday, the last working day before Eid, terminals were abuzz with commuters and transporters charged an additional Rs15 to Rs40 to the fixed fare. “I have paid Rs70 for Abbottabad which is Rs15 more than the routine fare,” said NGO worker Tanvir, a resident of Dhamtor village in Abbottabad district.
Since there was no ticketing system on any of the transports — except for the CNG van service — vehicle owners operating on Abbottabad and Mansehra routes charged an extra Rs20 to Rs30, said Naeem, another passenger.
The situation was similar with vans and buses from Peshawar, Nowshera and Mardan during these days.
Filled to the rafters
Due to the shortage of vehicles, drivers stuffed their vans and buses with more passengers than approved by regional transport authorities.
“There is no approved hike in the fare, but we hire the services of extra vans and buses from other routes to facilitate the passengers. That is why the drivers charge extra as they have to pay adda fees and bribe traffic police,” claimed Younas, the manager of a van terminal. On the other hand, Aslam, another transporter, denied there was any hike in fares altogether.
Pay as you go
On the first two days of Eid, the high-roof owners took full advantage of the absence of vans and buses, and charged between Rs80 and 100 to Abbottabad, while those travelling to Mansehra had to fork out Rs200 per passenger.
Likewise, vehicles travelling between local routes such as Khalabat Township, Khanpur, Sera-e-Nehmat Khan, Ghazi and Sirikot in Haripur were charging an extra Rs10 to Rs20. The situation was similar in Sherwan, Kothiala, Banda Phagwarian, Havelian, Rajooya as well as far off areas of Abbottabad, Mansehra and Battagram.
In Abbottabad itself, van services doubled their fare from Rs100 for a local stop to Rs200 and charged an extra Rs100 to Rs200 in areas like Dhamtor, Nathiagali and Ayubia.
In Haripur, the rickshaw owners already increased their fare from Rs30 to Rs40, but some even charged Rs50 to Rs70 on the first day of Eid, thus making a killing. “Its Eidi bhai jan (brother). We are poor and deserve it. That is the reason I have asked you to pay Rs100 for a half-kilometre distance within the city,” Noor Bahadur told a passenger questioning an additional Rs50 charge.
Not all commuters were as understanding, and harsh words and minor scuffles were witnessed among passengers and transporters.
Acceptable practice
When approached for comments, a traffic sub-inspector, requesting anonymity, said overcharging may be illegal, but has become part of tradition on occasions such as Eid. Most of the time, it is with the consent of passengers who do not mind paying a tip to the transporters. He claimed traffic police remained on duty during Eid, but no passengers complained of overcharging.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2015.
In a tradition almost as certain as a sacrificial animal’s fate, transporters across Hazara Division overcharged commuters ahead of Eidul Azha and on the three days of the occasion itself.
Transport fares saw a marked increase as people working in various districts travelled back to their native areas to celebrate.
On Wednesday, the last working day before Eid, terminals were abuzz with commuters and transporters charged an additional Rs15 to Rs40 to the fixed fare. “I have paid Rs70 for Abbottabad which is Rs15 more than the routine fare,” said NGO worker Tanvir, a resident of Dhamtor village in Abbottabad district.
Since there was no ticketing system on any of the transports — except for the CNG van service — vehicle owners operating on Abbottabad and Mansehra routes charged an extra Rs20 to Rs30, said Naeem, another passenger.
The situation was similar with vans and buses from Peshawar, Nowshera and Mardan during these days.
Filled to the rafters
Due to the shortage of vehicles, drivers stuffed their vans and buses with more passengers than approved by regional transport authorities.
“There is no approved hike in the fare, but we hire the services of extra vans and buses from other routes to facilitate the passengers. That is why the drivers charge extra as they have to pay adda fees and bribe traffic police,” claimed Younas, the manager of a van terminal. On the other hand, Aslam, another transporter, denied there was any hike in fares altogether.
Pay as you go
On the first two days of Eid, the high-roof owners took full advantage of the absence of vans and buses, and charged between Rs80 and 100 to Abbottabad, while those travelling to Mansehra had to fork out Rs200 per passenger.
Likewise, vehicles travelling between local routes such as Khalabat Township, Khanpur, Sera-e-Nehmat Khan, Ghazi and Sirikot in Haripur were charging an extra Rs10 to Rs20. The situation was similar in Sherwan, Kothiala, Banda Phagwarian, Havelian, Rajooya as well as far off areas of Abbottabad, Mansehra and Battagram.
In Abbottabad itself, van services doubled their fare from Rs100 for a local stop to Rs200 and charged an extra Rs100 to Rs200 in areas like Dhamtor, Nathiagali and Ayubia.
In Haripur, the rickshaw owners already increased their fare from Rs30 to Rs40, but some even charged Rs50 to Rs70 on the first day of Eid, thus making a killing. “Its Eidi bhai jan (brother). We are poor and deserve it. That is the reason I have asked you to pay Rs100 for a half-kilometre distance within the city,” Noor Bahadur told a passenger questioning an additional Rs50 charge.
Not all commuters were as understanding, and harsh words and minor scuffles were witnessed among passengers and transporters.
Acceptable practice
When approached for comments, a traffic sub-inspector, requesting anonymity, said overcharging may be illegal, but has become part of tradition on occasions such as Eid. Most of the time, it is with the consent of passengers who do not mind paying a tip to the transporters. He claimed traffic police remained on duty during Eid, but no passengers complained of overcharging.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2015.