BAJAUR: The district administration on Sunday launched a crackdown on public transporters for overcharging commuters on different inter-district routes and fined several drivers.
The action against transporters on severalinter-districtroutesincludingBajaurPeshawar and Bajaur-Rawalpindi/ Islamabad was taken on the directives of Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan following complaints by commuters on social media that transporters were charging more than the official fare list, according to a statement.
The statement issued by the deputy commissioner’s office added that a team of district administration officials accompanied by traffic police personnel con-ducted inspections at several points on the Bajaur-Peshawar artery where they checked fares on different routes.
During the inspection, the officials found a number of vehicle drivers guilty of overcharging, which led them to fine the drivers Rs2,000 each as punishment, the statement said.
It stated that the extra amount charged was also returned to commuters on the spot.
According to the statement, officials instructed drivers of public transport on all inter-district routes to strictly follow official rates to avoid stricter action, as the administration was committed to ensuring official rates at all costs.
Later, officials visited several bus stations including Jinnah Bus Terminal where they held meetings with terminal management and transporters repre-sentatives to ensure compliance with fare lists for both inter-district and intradistrict routes fixed by the district administration and local transport department.
Officials directed that drivers of all vehicles operating on inter-district and intra-district routes must obey the official fare list, otherwise they should be ready for strict action, the statement concluded.
Sources in the Jinnah Bus Terminal, a major public bus station in the district from where hundreds of vehicles departed for several cities on daily basis, told Dawn on Sunday that it was normal for drivers to overcharge commuters and flout the official fare list as the people who came to their homes had depart to their work places in large numbers after Eid holidays.