KARACHI, Nov 15: Sindh Transport Minister Akthar Jadoon has said public transport fares are calculated on the basis of average of CNG and diesel prices, insisting that fare is much lower here than in Punjab and by lowering the fares the government has provided relief to the masses.

He expressed these views while responding to a supplementary question asked by Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislator Heer Soho during the question hour in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday.

The MQM legislator had asked that prices of which fuel, CNG or diesel, were considered while fixing transport fares. According to her, the fare was calculated on the basis of diesel prices while an overwhelming majority of public transport vehicles were being run on CNG.

The minister said that vehicles were operated on CNG five days a week and on diesel during the two-day closure of gas stations. An average of the prices of both fuels was used to calculate the fares, he added.

He did not agree with another MQM legislator Khalid Ahmed that the decrease in fares in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was more than that of the fares in Sindh. The minister argued that both the provinces had increased the fares just a few months back and they withdrew that increase. However, he said, it was in April 2011 when the fare had been increased in Sindh last time. The CNG price was Rs55 and diesel was Rs93 then, whereas after the recent cut in CNG prices these were almost the same and the diesel prices were currently Rs115 per litre. He said that currently the lowest bus fare was Rs10 for up to five kilometres while in Punjab it was Rs16.

He said that fare lists had been provided to transporters with a directive to display these in public transport vehicles. The minister said he had also asked police to ensure that proper fare was being charged and that lists were displayed.

He said that for over three years, he had been trying to ensure that transporters issue tickets to passengers. But it could not be done, because they could not be asked to change tickets every week with fuel prices changing on a weekly basis.

Ban on new minibuses

In reply to another supplementary question raised by MQM legislator Iffat Khan, who took oath on Thursday, about old minibuses being operated on city roads, the minister agreed with her and said that after the death of a girl student in a road accident involving a minibus in 1985 the government had imposed a ban on bringing in more minibuses. He said that he had been trying to get the ban lifted and would once again urge the assembly to help lift that ban so that new minibuses could be added to city public transport.

In reply to yet another question, he said he had been asking police not to issue fitness certificates to rickshaws and taxis if fare meters were not installed.

When MQM lawmaker Shahnaz Saifuddin asked about payment of compensation to transporters for the vehicles damaged in the riots, Mr Jadoon said that over Rs21 million had been paid in compensation for 100 vehicles while another case of payment of compensation for 300 vehicles was in process.

In reply to a question asked by PML-F legislator Marvi Rashdi regarding steps taken for the security of public transport in the city, the minister said that a committee had been formed which held meetings, reviewed the situation and suggested steps. When she asked if the government planned insurance of public transport so that the transporters did not suffer financial losses in violence, he said that the government did not do any insurance.

Responding to a question asked by NPP lawmaker Arif Jatoi, who usually asks well-researched questions, regarding the number of public prosecutors of all grades in all districts, the transport minister said that post of public prosecutors did not exist in the transport department.