PMV’S CHARGE SAME FARE DESPITE APPROVAL TO INCREASE FARE

BY LETHISA KOLOKOL

REGULAR commuters in the Nation’s Capital have confirmed they still pay the normal bus fares despite gazetted notice from Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) announcing a bus fare increase from K1 to K1.60 for NCD Urban.

The new price order by the ICCC is in the National Gazette and was set to be effective from 1st of this month.

A regular commuter that travels the Waigani-Gerehu route told this newsroom this morning that they are still paying K1 for bus fares from Gerehu to Waigani and Gerehu to Boroko (4mile) is still K2.00.

However, some pmv drivers and crew have been advising their regular passengers of the new fares to be imposed in the coming weeks.

In December last year, the ICCC released a review of the bus and taxi fares around the country and the report states that after consultations with stakeholders and the PMV and Taxi Operators in NCD, the responses indicate that operators are primarily concerned with controlling costs and ensuring that fares adequately cover operational expenses.

The ICCC therefore concluded that it would be beneficial to both the stakeholders and the operators to increase the fares; with a planned phased increase of about 20% per year for three years (2026-2028).

Meanwhile commuters in Madang Province, also told this newsroom that the busfare from New Town to Madang Town is still on the K1 rate, although the ICCC suggested an additional 50 toea increase in their report.