To the dismay of Karachi commuters, the private public transporters of the city have refused to slash the bus fares despite a big cut in the rates of petrol and diesel on the plea that oil rate cut is meaningless to them as they run their buses, minibuses and coaches on cheap CNG.
The commuters have demanded that in the wake of this confession, the provincial transport department and the government of Sindh should re-fix the bus fares in the city on the basis of CNG usage.
The Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) led by their president Irshad Bukhari is of the opinion that as the public transporters of Karachi have already shifted their minibuses and coaches from diesel to CNG, the cut in oil price does not apply to them and they will not reduce their fares. However, the president of Karachi Transport Action Committee, another faction of private public transporters, Ashraf Banglori, says they are ready to accept any decision of the Sindh government regarding cut in the fare of public transport in Karachi.
Millions of commuters in Karachi have been braving cruel exploitation at the hands of private transporters whom the Karachiites dub as transporters mafia.
Deceased ago, the government had allowed the private transporters a new class of minibuses called ‘coaches’ on the condition that no commuter will be allowed to travel in them if vacant seat in not available. However, the commuters not only travel in these packed coaches by standing on their footboards but also perching on their rooftops. The Supreme Court of Pakistan had instructed the administration to remove the rooftop racks from all minibuses and coaches of Karachi, but the provincial government did not get this crucial instruction implemented.
Haleem Adil Sheikh, president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), said the government had failed to safeguard the rights of commuters of Karachi. He said millions of commuters in the city, despite being a strong consumer group, had political patronage.
He demanded to end the diesel-based fare calculation formula of bus fares and devise a new bus fare formulas based on the consumption of CNG with a provision for CNG load shedding days. He demanded to modernise the public transport system in Karachi by banning old and smoke-emitting vehicles. He also demanded to remove roof-racks from all minibuses and coaches. He said there should be one slab of fare for minibuses and coaches as there was no difference between them.