Islamabad/Karachi June 23 (TNS): A flood of home-goers was seen at railway stations and bus terminals in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar and other major and minor cities amidst complaints of overcharging and fleecing of passengers by private bus operators and cab service providers.
The Karachi railway station saw the highest number passengers with reservation tickets as the Pakistan Railways has offered a 20 percent discount on fares for special trains it has churned out for Eid. The Eid special train with additional bogeys left the Karachi railway station on Friday morning which will pass through different stations of Punjab before halting at Peshawar station.
Similarly, special trains have been put on the track from Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi and other railway stations to ferry passengers to and from their respective hometowns.
Meanwhile, the Pirwadhai bus terminal, Karachi bus terminal at Cantt, Lari Ara Lahore, Qissa Khawani Bazaar Peshawar and other bus terminals on Friday witnessed a huge flux of passengers going to their respective destinations to celebrate Eid with their loved ones and families. The home-goers, however, complained that the private bus operators were charging extra from the passengers to cash in on the overflow of travelers. The passengers said that the local administrations and the police have left the travelers at the mercy of the bus operators, who have fixed their own fare and charging extra for the people.
According to reports, the Sindh provincial authorities took five persons into custody at the Cantt bus terminal for overcharging the passengers. As soon as the raiding team turned up at the Cantt bus terminal, several operators disappeared from their booking offices with their reservation records. At the Pirwadhai bus terminal, passengers were seen arguing with the transporters over the fare and extra charges.
According to some passengers, the transporters were adamant in their attitude and they are flatly refusing to listen to anything related to fares, sometimes, asking the passengers to drop their plan or pay extra sum and book tickets
