The All Pakistan Public Transport Owners Federation (APPTOF) has announced that the fares for public travel between Lahore and other cities of Punjab have been reduced by 10 percent.
The APPTOF stated that travel costs between Lahore and Sadiqabad have been reduced by Rs. 200. Similarly, the fares between Lahore and Multan, and Lahore and Rawalpindi have been reduced by Rs. 100, and those between Lahore and Faisalabad have been cut by Rs. 50.
The APPTOF mentioned that a decrease of Rs. 40 in diesel prices was subsequent to a massive hike of Rs. 133.
However, the drop in fares might be temporary, as the federal government plans to impose a levy on petroleum products which will result in another hike in transport prices.
Note that the government passed an amendment in the Petroleum Levy Ordinance 1961 last month, which enabled it to gradually levy taxes on all petroleum products including high-speed diesel, light diesel oil, motor gasoline, superior gasoline, high octane blending component, and E-10 gasoline.
The Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail, also confirmed that the government will impose Rs. 50 petroleum levy gradually.