Prolonged CNG closure hits road users hard financially.

Byline: Aamir Shafaat Khan

KARACHI -- The closure of CNG stations for a longer duration has proved to be a great burden on the pockets of consumers as rickshaw and taxi drivers are demanding exorbitant fares while peak factor on ride-hailing services has remained a constant irritant owing to lack of public transport.

The current week also saw a huge rush of people at bus stops waiting for public transport vehicles as buses were taking too long to reach their designated stops because of being a few in numbers.

A number of transporters had also parked their vehicles in parking areas owing to non-availability of gas.

Most public transport buses use CNG instead of diesel.

Due to prolonged gas loadshedding, people are facing a great deal of problems in finding seats in three wheeler rickshaws, usually called qingqi.

Some qingqi operators are seen demanding Rs25-30 instead of the actual fare of Rs20 for a ride.

Due to non-availability of public transport, peak factors on ride-hailing services (two, three and four wheelers) have also severely hit cash-strapped consumers.

Due to the peak factor, the fare of ride-hailing services becomes more expensive than the fares being charged by private rickshaws.

For a distance of 12km, rickshaw owners, after a long bargain, demand Rs350-450 while rickshaws and cars of Uber and Careem charge around Rs600-800 during the peak factor.

Private CNG rickshaw owners have placed a 1.5 litre bottle of petrol to show customers that they are using petrol, which justifies high transportation charges.

CNG business becoming 'non-profitable'

'We will block the main roads in case gas supply to stations is closed for more than three days next week against the schedule of SSGCL,' Chairman of CNG Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan said.

He said CNG sales were badly hit in the current week due to longer duration of station closures coupled with switching over of consumers to petrol.

'We have been encouraged by previous governments to invest in CNG sector for ensuring clean environment and curbing oil import bill, but the business environment is now turning hostile,' he added.

On reports of gas tariff hike by up to 221 per cent from January 2020, Sami Khan said, adviser to prime minister on petroleum products Nadeem Babar assured him on Saturday morning that 'decision on gas increase will be made by mid January 2020'.

He said that he had received a message from the PM's adviser, which said: 'there is no increase. OGRA has...