Commission warns PMV operators on illegal bus fares

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THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) is the only agency responsible for setting PMV fares in the country.
The commission, in an email to The National, said any fares imposed by PMV associations or charged by PMVs that were not approved and gazetted by them were illegal and PMV operators could be charged and prosecuted under the Prices Regulation Act for charging illegal fares.
ICCC’s comments came after PMVs that serviced route 13E along back road in Lae charged an additional K1 fee for their passengers on top of the previous K1.
Bus owners agreed to start collecting K2 on Saturday without any notice to the travelling public and then followed that action up with a protest on Monday to alert authorities on their intention to increase bus fares.
Despite being advised by police and traffic registry that the price increase was illegal, buses continued to collect K2.
ICCC said they were currently conducting a review of PMV and taxi fares for approved routes throughout PNG for the regulatory period 2020-2024.
This project would be completed at the end of the year with a new price order and new fares to commence on Jan 1, 2020.
ICCC also called on the general public to report PMV buses that were over charging.
“When being over charged by PMV buses, the following details about the PMV bus involved should be provided to the ICCC: general description, the route number, the plate number, fares charged and key details of conversation held with the driver/crew or comments made by them,” the commission said in statement.
The public in Lae can reach ICCC through their Momase office in Lae on phone: 472 2859 or email: [email protected]
The public using the route was forced to walk on Tuesday.

One thought on “Commission warns PMV operators on illegal bus fares

  • ICCC should also checked on busfare charged on passagers throught out the country. Not only in cities where only K1 or 0.50t charged ontop of the approved charges. In other parts of the country, we are paying K5-K10 in addition to approved busfares.

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