Taking advantage of the closure of CNG stations and the railway crisis, transport owners have been fleecing passengers by increasing fares by up to 50 percent in the provincial capital. Most public transport on the city roads are without a fare list due to which heated arguments between commuters and the transport crew over the fare are a common sight.
On other hand, the City Traffic Police has failed to take action against the transport owners despite public complaints of overcharging. When a commuter protests against overcharging, he has to face humiliation by the conductors and other crew members.
The passengers demanded that the owners of the public transport vehicles should display fare lists to avoid inconvenience to them.
After the railways crisis, transport owners, in connivance with the traffic police, increased fares without approval by the concerned authorities and started overcharging on all inter-city routes. The fare for Narowal, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Muredke and Sargodha etc from Lahore has been increased by up to 50 percent. The passengers at the Badami Bagh general bus stand said that the transport owners had doubled fares. “There is also a shortage of transport. Authorities concerned should take immediate action and ensure that normal fares are charged from passengers,” they said. A City Traffic Police spokesman said that action was being taken against the transport owners involved in overcharging and an all-out effort was being made by the wardens to control the situation.