PESHAWAR: As the district administration closed CNG stations on Saturday, public transporters, especially taxi and rickshaw drivers, almost doubled the fares, causing problems to commuters in the provincial capital.

The Peshawar’s district administration had ordered on Saturday that the CNG stations would remain closed till January 31 in order to ensure smooth gas supply to domestic consumers.

The decision has, however, troubled the commuters, especially those using taxis and rickshaws, for travel from one place to another.

The commuters said that the drivers of taxis and rickshaws had doubled the fare in just one day after the decision to close the CNG stations. They added that though petrol was costly than CNG the public transporters should avoid charging commuters too much.

“The driver of a rickshaw charged me Rs100 extra, arguing that he had to use petrol after the district administration closed the CNG stations,” Ahmad Farooq, a resident of Kohat Road, said as he travelled from his area to the Scheme Chowk.

He claimed that public transporters had doubled the fare on Sunday in just one day, saying that he was willing to pay more, but charging almost double the fare was unjust and unfair and the district administration should take notice of it.

Salim Akbar, a rickshaw driver, lamented that the closure of CNG stations had increased their misery as they were already reeling from sky-high inflation.

Published in Dawn, january 2th, 2023