Likely decline in diesel price : Transporters unwilling
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: Although reduction in diesel price is on cards, public transporters are in no mood to pass this benefit onto the commuters unless prices of lubricants and spare parts come down.Islamabad Transport Welfare Association President Malik Nawab Khan told Daily Times on Sunday that the transporters were having a tough time because of excessive increase in prices of lubricants and spare parts.“Previously, oil change of a van cost Rs 1,100 but now it costs Rs 2,100. Brake oil was available for Rs 70 a pack a year ago but now it is Rs 130 a pack,” he said.He criticised the government for putting no check on lubricant prices. He said prices of petroleum products had almost been halved in international market, but oil companies were still selling lubricants at an increased price.Khan alleged that OGRA was getting kickbacks from oil marketing companies to keep a blind eye on lubricants prices.Commuters said transporters were overcharging on almost all public transport routes and they refused to display a fare list prominently in vans. They rejected transporters argument that they were ‘having a tough time’, saying each van owner saved at least Rs 2,000 a day. They appealed to the authorities concerned to maintain a fare list based on just calculation of fuel consumption and profit margin. “It is the commuters who are hit by inflation the hardest. We don’t say that the transporters should not earn but their profit should be reasonable,” Shuja Ahmed, a commuter, said.Zulfiqar Abbasi, a van driver, said the transporters usually charged according to the fare list but they increased fare sometimes in rain due to shortage of passengers.Abbasi said commuters criticised transporters for overcharging without realising their problems.
ISLAMABAD: Although reduction in diesel price is on cards, public transporters are in no mood to pass this benefit onto the commuters unless prices of lubricants and spare parts come down.Islamabad Transport Welfare Association President Malik Nawab Khan told Daily Times on Sunday that the transporters were having a tough time because of excessive increase in prices of lubricants and spare parts.“Previously, oil change of a van cost Rs 1,100 but now it costs Rs 2,100. Brake oil was available for Rs 70 a pack a year ago but now it is Rs 130 a pack,” he said.He criticised the government for putting no check on lubricant prices. He said prices of petroleum products had almost been halved in international market, but oil companies were still selling lubricants at an increased price.Khan alleged that OGRA was getting kickbacks from oil marketing companies to keep a blind eye on lubricants prices.Commuters said transporters were overcharging on almost all public transport routes and they refused to display a fare list prominently in vans. They rejected transporters argument that they were ‘having a tough time’, saying each van owner saved at least Rs 2,000 a day. They appealed to the authorities concerned to maintain a fare list based on just calculation of fuel consumption and profit margin. “It is the commuters who are hit by inflation the hardest. We don’t say that the transporters should not earn but their profit should be reasonable,” Shuja Ahmed, a commuter, said.Zulfiqar Abbasi, a van driver, said the transporters usually charged according to the fare list but they increased fare sometimes in rain due to shortage of passengers.Abbasi said commuters criticised transporters for overcharging without realising their problems.
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