Intercity Fares Hiked upto Rs. 600 After New Petrol Prices
The aftershocks of the latest petrol price hike have started to arrive as transporters across the country jacked up the intercity fares of buses and coaches. As per media reports, the All Pakistan Public Transport Owners Federation (APPTOF) announced a 10% increase in intercity fares after meeting the members.
The spokesperson of the federation told the media that all the attendees of the meeting were of the view that this massive diesel price hike would destroy Pakistan’s transport system.
New Intercity Fares
The APPTOF has announced the new fares for intercity travel:
The revised fares announced by the transport federation will apply on AC and non-AC buses. The new rates are applicable from January 29, 2023. Meanwhile, the Traders Association of Pakistan has also rejected the hike in fuel prices, stating that it would bring a flood of inflation. The association demanded an immediate rollback of this new price increase.
Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance President Malik Shahzad also rejected increasing petrol and diesel prices. “We would announce a plan of action against this increase after consultation with the transporters,” Shahzad said.
Petrol Price Hike
On Sunday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced a petrol price hike of Rs. 35 per liter due to the extreme devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar. In his announcement regarding the petrol price hike, Dar also said that the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil had been increased by Rs. 18. In the aftermath of the removal of the unofficial cap on the dollar, the Pakistani rupee hit a historic low against the dollar, which has led to this inflation.
Dar also added that to prevent temporary hoarding and speculation about petrol shortages, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) asked the government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to implement the new rates immediately.
The minister told the news network that prices stayed the same once in the past four months, from October to January 29. He further added that over this period, petrol and diesel prices decreased by Rs. 19 or Rs. 20.