KARACHI, Sept 28: Transpor-ters have arbitrarily increased bus fares on different intercity routes as a large number of people thronged bus terminals to go back to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with their families.

At all the intercity bus terminals, including that set up at Jumani Arcade Old Sabzi Mandi, Al-Karam Square, Taj Complex, Saddar, Cantt Station and Patail Para, bus owners have increased fares by Rs200 to Rs300 per seat.

The buses running on Balochistan routes, including the Karachi-Quetta route, are charging Rs300 extra from passengers.

It was observed that in many buses and coaches more passengers were being boarded than their capacity. The extra passengers in buses were sitting on stools between the rows of seats, or on the rooftop of buses.

The buses plying from Cantt station to the area of upper and lower Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawal-pur, Rahimyar Khan, Sadiqabad, Sialkot, Sahiwal and others cities, have also increased fares by Rs200-300 per passenger.

Last month these buses were charging Rs1400 for Lahore but now they have increased it to Rs1600. Some were even charging Rs1700 for Lahore.

Most of the buses were not issuing tickets of these increased rates to avoid any possible legal action from the government.

Likewise, buses running from Saddar terminal to different areas of interior of Sindh, including Sukkur, Larkana, Jacob-abad, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze, and others have also raised fares by Rs100-200 per seat.

The coaches plying between Karachi and Nawabshah have increased their fares from Rs280 to Rs400, and some even charging Rs450 per seat.

Likewise, coaches have increased the fare for Larkana from Rs400 to Rs500-550 per seat.

Coaches running from Taj Complex to Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Chakwal and other cities have raised fare by Rs200-300 per seat. They were charging Rs1600 per seat for Islamabad and Rawalpindi before Ramazan but now they are charging Rs1800-1900 per passenger.

In the same way, transporters at Patail Para terminal have also arbitrarily increased fares by Rs300-400. These buses run from Karachi to Mansehra, Muzaffarabad and other areas.

When some bus operators were asked about the illegal raise in travel fare, they said that they were not doing that ‘happily’. They said they were facing losses of Rs50,000 per trip as their buses were returning without passengers from Lahore and other stations.

They said they had to bear the cost of diesel, charges of toll plazas crossing and had to wages to drivers and conductors.

Passengers said they were compelled to pay extra money because they had to celebrate Eid with their families and relatives in their hometowns.

However, they regretted that the government was least concerned with their problems and had given a freehand to transporters to fleece passengers.—PPI