Students to pay 50-75 per cent of adult bus fare: ICCC boss

Posted on The National

ALL students are supposed to pay 50 to 75 per cent of the maximum adult PMV (Private Motor Vehicle) bus-fare, says Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) chief executive officer Paulus Ain.
Ain told The National the consumer price control arrangement allowed for students to pay below the maximum fare chargeable by operators.
Ain said that applied to students from the primary schools to the tertiary institutions.
“In the current price control arrangement that we have in-place, ICCC provides concession fares for students from primary to tertiary institutions which we consider are reasonable for everyone across the country,” Ain said.
“For example, the adult fare for all NCD (National Capital District) routes is K1, therefore 50 percent and 75 per cent of the maximum fare is 50t and 80t respectively.
“The current ICCC’s approved fares is applied to all operators providing PMV services along declared routes throughout the country.”
Ain said that as a regulator, it also considered the high cost of running a PMV business and could not totally remove busfare payments for students as had been the requests lately by members of the public.
“We also consider the high costs of running the PMV businesses and associated costs of wear and tear operators pay during the period of operation while at the same time trying to make a profit. We are of the view that provision of transport services to the travelling public is an essential service.
“The operators provide this service without subsidy support from anyone including the Government.
“Recently, we also received views from some PMV operators requesting to increase students’ fares to adult fares.
“This is something that will be addressed during the current review into pricing for the PMV and Taxi service industry.
“The PMV fares is set only for declared routes and urban routes through the country. The distance is one factor that attributed to the increased PMV fares.”.
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission sets the PMV fares for declared routes and urban routes annually through a national gazette notice.
The PMV fares schedule can be obtained from the ICCC office.

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