PESHAWAR: In pursuance of the directives of Chief Minister KP, Mahmood Khan for measures against increasing transport fares, Commissioner Peshawar, Raiz Mehsud held a meeting with the Transport Department, Traffic officials and representatives of the Public Transport association.
According to a press release issued here on Sunday, during the meeting the Transport association agreed on the charging of old fares.
Commissioner Peshawar also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of DC Peshawar to finalize new fares within 72 hours time. Riaz Mehsud also issued directives to the district administration, Transport Department and Traffic police to take strict action against those found charging exorbitant rates on passengers.
It merits mention here that Chief Minister, Mahmood Khan while taking notice of high transportation charges after ban on the supply of natural gas to CNG Stations, had directed Commissioner Peshawar to take measures for its prevention on an emergency basis.
Meanwhile, Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Peshawar launched a crackdown against public transport for overcharging commuters.
On the special directives of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, secretary Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Akbar Iftikhar carried out an operation against transporters and imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000/- on over 70 vehicles. According to an official handout, the ongoing crackdown against overcharging by transporters will continue on all routes and asked the transporters to charge commuters on the basis of the fixed fares. Otherwise, stern action would be taken against them.
On the other hand, transporters despite the action by RTA and imposing penalties/fines, are continuously overcharging travelers on local and inter and intra-districts routes. Transporters unilaterally increased fare rates on inter and intra-district routes owing to closure of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations across the province. Passengers expressed outcry over charging self-imposed fares by transporters.
It is noted to mention here that the city administration notified the closure of compressed natural gas (CNG) stations from Jan 1, 2023 to Jan 31, 2023 in a bid to secure gas supplies for domestic use. The decision has been taken on the guidelines issued by the Home Department aiming at uninterrupted supply of Sui gas to domestic consumers. Strict action would be taken against violators under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code, said an official statement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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