Transporters still hike fares despite compensation assurance by govt

ISLAMABAD: Privately owned public and goods transporters increased fares by 30 to 50 percent, despite assurances from the federal and provincial governments that they would bear the additional cost to ensure that fares were not raised.

The federal government and the Punjab government announced free travel for commuters on government-owned metro and intra and inter-city buses. The Sindh government also announced that it would compensate transporters for their additional cost.

Despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement to compensate the various private public transport categories, the fares across the country went up substantially. “I used to pay PKR 70 from Adiala to Faizabad, but now I am paying PKR 100 for it,” a mason, Saleem Khan, told Business Recorder. He acknowledged that free travel in the metro provided some respite but lamented that the service does not cover all locations of the twin cities.

The private intercity transport providers increased fares by 25 to 30 percent. Faisal Movers increased fare for Islamabad-Lahore from PKR 1700 to 2200, and the fare for Islamabad-Karachi from PKR 8700 to PKR 10800.

Responding to a query as to why the rates were raised given that the government announced it would provide a subsidy on public transport, a senior official of the company said that the transporters are working out the modalities for implementing the government policy measure but added that “even if the government provides a subsidy, the fares are unlikely to come to the level of two months back.”

Former president of United Goods Transporters Association Khalid Khan said the transportation cost of a container from Karachi to Islamabad was PKR 100,000, which has now reached PKR 160,000 within a span of two months. “The price of diesel in just two months rocketed from PKR 266.17 to PKR 520, registering an increase of over 100 percent, and that’s why the increase is very reasonable,” he remarked.

Khalid Khan said that though the federal and provincial governments announced they would compensate transporters through a subsidy, so far, no official has approached them. He said that in a day or two, the situation would be clear.

In response to the recent hike in fuel prices, the government has announced the introduction of a monthly subsidy for various transport categories: trucks will receive PKR70,000, passenger buses PKR100,000, mini-buses and wagons PKR40,000, cargo vehicles PKR80,000, and delivery vans PKR 35,000.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026