HYDERABAD, Oct 16: Commuters will face acute shortage of vehicles including buses, coasters and vans across Sindh from Wednesday evening as almost 80 per cent of the vehicles have been booked by district and city chapters of PPP to take party workers to Karachi.

Only a few buses would be available on Karachi-Hyderabad route from Wednesday which will provide an opportunity to bus owners to fleece the commuters.

Information collected by Dawn here on Tuesday evening revealed that buses, coasters and vans have been booked in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Nawabshah, Dadu, Jamshoro, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Badin, Thatta, Tharparkar, Naushahro Feroze much before Oct 18 on an advance payment because otherwise the bus owners were reluctant to offer their vehicle.

While a huge number of vehicles have been engaged, some of the owners of coasters and vans are reluctant to offer their vehicles in view of the May 12 tragedy in Karachi on the eve of reception of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

“I plainly refused to give my vehicles to the party because I suffered losses on May 12”, said Mohammad Yousuf Gaddi, who operates coasters on Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas route. His friend, Zahid Shah also supported his opinion and said that he had to give only two of vehicles to one of his friend who is a PPP-backed UC Nazim. “I gave these vehicles free of charge although I was reluctant because windowpanes of my vehicles were smashed near Quaid-i-Azam mausoleum on May 12”, said Zahir Shah.

Still 50 per cent of the coasters that ply on Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad-Sanghar routes have been booked at exorbitant rates. A coaster is normally booked for Karachi for Rs6,000 but the transporters are now charging double the money. “Yes our friends have booked coasters for Rs12,000 to Rs15,000,” said one coaster owner.Same is the case with 16-seaters hi-ace vans as their owners also refuse to book their vehicles for the whole day. They normally charge Rs3,500 for up and down trip from Hyderabad to Karachi but parties who needed vehicles on October 18 will engage them for 24 hours and that they needed that vehicles’ engine should keep functioning for 24 hours. “Van owners who are intelligent are not ready to send their vehicles to Karachi” said a van owner, who operates a van stand.

Since Eid holidays will be over on Wednesday there would be a huge rush on buses and given the fact that buses will not be available from tomorrow evening, the commuters will find themselves in trouble. They will be at the mercy of bus operators who will fleece them.

Until Eid, Rs110 or Rs120 were being charged for a Hyderabad-Karachi trip but now commuters are paying Rs160. “There will be no buses from Wednesday evening and certainly passengers will face serious trouble” said Mulla Rafiq, who operates one of the major bus stands in Cantonment area for Karachi-Hyderabad route.

The air-conditioned buses are being booked at Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 although in normal days an air-conditioned bus is booked for Rs13,000 to Rs15,000.

However, October 18 is proving to be a boon for transporters. “We have given our buses without giving any serious consideration to fears as what would happen on October 18 in Karachi,” said Rafiq.

Exorbitant rates are being charged for non air-conditioned buses too which carry around 60 to 65 passengers while AC buses carry around 50 passengers.

Around 150 to 200 buses operate on Karachi-Hyderabad Super Highway but transporters expect only a few buses will be plying from Wednesday evening for commuters.

People form Larkana, Sukkur and Ghotki are approaching Hyderabad-based transporters to obtain buses. They are ready to make advance payments regardless of the fact that these are exorbitant. The transporters advice people especially families not to try to travel from and to Karachi between October 17 and 18 as they will have to face serious difficulties with their minor children in view of shortage of buses.

“I am sitting on my petrol pump away from bus stand because I don’t have vehicles to offer to parties for Karachi’s event on Thursday”, said Aurangzeb Khan, a local ANP leader and a known transporter. He said that people had booked vehicles around a fortnight back to avoid any inconvenience.

A race seems to be going on between local party leaders to hire as many buses as possible for their respective rallies. Everyone of them is talking about hiring more than 500 vehicles from Hyderabad or other district to take workers to Karachi to put an impressive show of strength.