The commuters of Karachi have demanded of the Sindh government to instruct its transport department to fix bus fares for Karachi on the basis of the use of CNG and end exploitation of the citizens at the hands of private transporters. There should be two separate bus fare slabs, one for the days when CNG is available in the city and the other for the days when CNG is not available, so that both commuters and transporters be given justice and equity.
Important public transport sector in Karachi is monopolised by private transporters. These transporters brutally exploit the commuters of Karachi by charging bus fares on the basis of diesel use, while in fact they use cheap CNG. However, the provincial government of Sindh has willingly turned a blind eye towards this exploitation as the transporters are known to be adept in greasing the palm of concerned officials.
However, a faction of transporters named Karachi Transport Action Committee is in favour of slashing bus fares in Karachi. Action Committee president Muhammad Ashraf Banglori said that transporters earn extra profit of Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 per day per vehicle by using cheap CNG and charging fare on the basis of using costly diesel. He said this extra profit should be shared with commuters and they should be provided immediate relief. He said if the transport department, government of Sindh, issued a notification for reduction of bus fares in Karachi, the Karachi Transport Action Committee would fully support it.
The Karachi commuters’ rights campaign, a body of commuters’ rights, says the public transport sector in Karachi needs a complete overhauling. The public transport sector of the city needs modernisation and the city commuters be provided urban commuting facilities like other major urban metropolitan cities. Karachi needs underground metro rail project to mitigate the sufferings of millions of commuters. The surface rail-based Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) should be revived.
The important transport department must be handed over to an able and competent administration having proper vision of the urban public transport needs. There should be a proper colour code for all types of public transport vehicles in Karachi. The fare difference between minibuses and coaches be abolished and the coaches should be given proper route numbers. Moreover, there should be only two stages in bus fares: one for destinations up to two bus stops and other for the destination for more than two bus stops.
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