KARACHI, Nov 18: Despite marked reduction in the prices of petroleum products which during the last one and half months have been reduced thrice, there has been no reduction in the transport fares.

The Karachi Transport federation (KTF) on Friday offered to slash the fares to the level of Aug 4, provided that the government and petroleum companies fix diesel prices for at least one year.

The government’s lack of interest in reducing transport fares has come as a boon to transporters as they have been given a free hand to fleece commuters.

Commuters slam the authorities who, they say, are always prepared to bow before the demands of transporters to enhance fares arbitrarily and unjustifiably. But when the question commuters’ interests arise they appear to be tightlipped and unmoved by the virtue of not receiving any financial reward from commuters.

They say the government should act to safeguard their interests as mafia groups are out to trample the basic civic rights of the citizens.

Instead of serving the citizens who pay heavy taxes to the government, they deny them due rights just to please the transport mafia which has struck a deep root among the government functionaries, they remark.

There exists no ticketing system in public transport, either in buses or caches. Brawls over whether one has paid the fare or not are a common sight.

Thousands of commuters suffer daily mental and physical stress as they are compelled to travel in dilapidated buses, dingy mini-buses and crowded coaches. Commuters describe the experience as humiliating.

The conductors overload them by pushing in the passengers like animals. Despite paying reasonable fare, passengers face numerous problems ranging from conductors misconduct to wastage of time.—PPI