PESHAWAR, Nov 6: Transporters have raised fares for all routes in the province at least by 10 per cent, citing the increase in fuel prices.

A passenger travelling from Mardan to Peshawar is being charged Rs22 as compared to Rs20 which was earlier charged on the same route. Similar is the case on other routes.

Unofficial increase in the fares is not an unusual thing and the Provincial Transport Authority has failed to resolve the issue.

Transporters argue that the fuel prices were increased every now and then and they had no option but to raise the fares. This is the third time that fares have been increased during the last five months, but there is no official intervention to check the practice.

The PTA had issued a fare-table on May 7 and devised a formula under which transporters had to increase or decrease the fares in line with the fluctuation in the fuel prices. However, transporters are not complying with the formula. The fare list also describes the would-be fares in case there is variation in the diesel price.

The transporters, however, say that the new fare list falls too short of meeting their expenses.

The commuters say that the transporters increase the fares so frequently that it is difficult for a common man to afford it. “On week-ends, transporters charge the passengers almost double the normal fares when government servants in the city throng the bus-stands to go to their native villages,” said Mohammad Tila, a resident of Mardan. He said they had lodged complaints with the police many times but to no avail.

The worst sufferers are those travelling to remote parts of the province, like Chitral, Dir, Miran Shah, Karak, Mingora, Tall, Hangu and Malakand. For instance, the PTA has fixed Rs145 for journey from Peshawar to Chitral, but the transporters charge Rs250 per head. For Dir, they are charging Rs95 instead of Rs73 per head, and for Mingora the passengers have to pay Rs70 instead of Rs50.