The Public Transporters in Karachi have begun a strike on Thursday. The Public transporters are protesting against the electronic challan system.
The strike has caused major disruptions for commuters across the country. The strike has left thousands of daily users of public transport helpless.
Citizens are now relying on rickshaws and online taxis as buses and vans stayed off the street today.
Online taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers, on seeing the opportunity bumped their prices up as the demand increased.
Tawab Khan, the President of the Karachi Transport Ittehad said that the protest was being held against excessive penalties imposed on drivers. The transporters described these challans as illegal; e-challans.
He said that they were protesting against the excessive e-challans and illegal challans that are not acceptable. He said the transporters understand why the challans exist but will only accept them if they are issued in accordance with the law.
The Karachi transporters announced the strike a day earlier and they warned that all the public transport services will remain suspended on Thursday. They said that they just want their concerns to be heard.
The traffic authorities were also criticised by Tawab Khan who said that the authorities are trying to introduce Dubai-style traffic management, however, they have not improved the roads of the city and passenger facilities.
He said that the transport operators were already facing difficult conditions and the heavy fines that were being imposed by the e-challan system were unacceptable and unfair.
He also demanded that all issues related to e-challans be resolved as soon as possible. He warned that if the issues are not resolved, the protest will quickly be expanded to other cities.
The suspension of public transport has created issues for the daily commuters in Karachi. Especially for office workers, students and daily wage earners.
Also read: Bus strike announced in Karachi
