ISLAMABAD: As Eidul Fitar approaches near, non-availability of travelling tickets, overcharging and over crowdedness on the vehicles have created the hurdles for the commuters travelling to their hometown from the federal capital.
Three major bus terminals of twin cities, including Faizabad, Pirwadhai and Karachi Company, were crowded with people who were waiting to get seats on the buses to go homes. But, the situation was worse because of unavailability of vehicles and first come first go’ condition.
People from all over the country reside in the federal capital for work and business, and like every year most of them travel back to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.
A majority of people from working class background and students depend on public transport to travel and every time they have to suffer the same problems.
Meanwhile, in normal circumstances a large number of vehicles daily leave the city taking passengers to their destinations; however, on every Eid, they fail in facilitating them.
Asad Abbas Shah, a transport manager at a private bus terminal talking to this agency said the administration here has put every bus on the road, but it was not possible to take everyone from such a large crowd in one go. “People should leave early on Eid days to avoid ticketing problem,” he said.
Purchasing ticket before Eid has also become a frustrating task for people as most of the seats are found booked almost a week before the Eid.
According to Asad Shah, those who get seats on chance are the lucky people in these days. ‘By chance’ is ticketing system on first come, first serve basis.
But every commuter cannot afford the luxuries of bus services being operated by the big companies and they have to rely on average and below average transport to save money.
Meanwhile, Sheraz Ahmed, a driver claimed that they were not earning extra-profit and exploiting commuters on the occasion of the Eid.
“Eid doesn’t come for commuters only, we also have to celebrate it by feeding our families and sometimes traffic officials also demand bribery in the name of ‘Eidi’ from drivers in these days,” he said.
Some commuters also complained that the vehicle owners were not only overcharging but they were also taking hundreds of rupees for the luggage.
Tanvir Abbas, a student who was going to Bahawalpur on Eid, said that he purchased the ticket by paying Rs 100 extra to the helper of the bus, and he also gave Rs 200 to a helper for his luggage, which usually bus companies provide.
Answering a query regarding commuters issues Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) Secretary Syed Jawad Muzaffar said he was paying regular visits to different bus stands and heavy fines were also imposed on security mechanism violations and unavailability of other safety measures for commuters.
He strictly warned transporters to place fare list and adhere to the timings, adding he also asked the bus stand owners to improve the conditions for passengers sitting areas.
