Private public transporters are overcharging the commuters in the city, while the provincial government is not taking steps to end this exploitation of citizens.
The commuters are being charged a fare of Rs 20 is so-called coaches, whose maximum fare is Rs 18. The provincial government of Sindh decades ago had provided a chance to public transporter to loot the commuters in the name of a new class of minibus called ‘coach’.
According the government notification these coaches were allowed to charge extra fare as compared to ordinary minibuses because they would run on seat-by-seat method and do not allow any commuter boarding if a vacant seat is not available.
However, these so-called coaches are plying loaded with commuters even on their rooftops and they charge even more fare than the official list. The hapless commuters have no avenue to seek justice from this exploitation as the provincial transport department always takes sides with private transporters.
The commuters have appealed to the chief justice of Sindh High Court to take a suo motu notice of this exploitation of citizens and violation of laws and summon the government officials to explain why the commuters are being fleeced in broad daylight. They should be made answerable why they do not issue tickets to passengers after charging bus fare, why they have not removed roof racks despite the instructions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, why students and children are not given the facility of half bus far, why the public transport vehicles are not painted in official bus colour code, and why road unfit buses and minibuses are plying on the streets of Karachi.
