PESHAWAR, Sept 9: Owing to lack of proper check, the local transporters are overcharging commuters besides denying 50 per cent concession allowed to students and senior citizens.

Commuters say the city district government last month revised fares of the local public transport on account of soaring petroleum prices, increasing the stop-to-stop fare from Rs5 to Rs7, which attracted severe public criticism.

Ironically, the announcement to this effect was confined to a press statement indicating the fare raise and no official fare list has been issued to the transporters, giving them an opportunity to fleece commuters.

Commuters complained that officially the city government had announced Rs7 from stop-to-stop, whereas transporters were charging Rs8.

This created resentment among the people as there was no one from the government department to check illegal practices.

Apart from the overcharging, most of the transporters were not offering concession to students and senior citizens under the law. Especially, the owners of wagons, plying from the General Bus Stand to Karkhano Markets via Khyber Road, are out rightly denying the 50 per cent concession that often caused verbal brawls between students and transporters.

“Whenever, the government revises the fare schedule, the owners of wagon service are always the first to increase the tariff making the official announcement a ground, but at the same time they don’t offer the concession given to senior citizens and students,” said Imran Ali, a student.

The transporters were openly violating the rules and regulation by not offering the concession in tariff to students and citizens over 60 years of age, but there was no one to take action against them, lamented another commuter.

The district coordination officer Peshawar could not be contacted to know the official version on the issue despite repeated attempts.