Commuters urged to report being overcharged to police

COMMUTERS in the National Capital District are advised to report public motor vehicles (PMVs) that are charging double fees to the Traffic Police office at 4-Mile, officer in-charge Senior Insp Joseph Salle says.
Salle said according to the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), the maximum PMV fare for the routes in Port Moresby per passenger was K1.
He said one reason his office was not addressing the issue effectively was that people were not reporting offenders.
He said some PMVs would continue to charge illegal fares if they were not reported.
Salle said an individual would need to record the details of the PMV, its route and a picture of the vehicle, if possible, and lodge their complaint with his office and they would act on it.
He said the information would be given to traffic officers patrolling the city daily and targeted PMVs would be stopped with the driver and his crew questioned.
“When passengers pay K2 they have to record the date and time, the number plate of the vehicle, the bus number, what route it takes, they can also take pictures of the vehicle with their mobile phones,” he said. “With that information when they come to the 4-Mile traffic office they just have to write a statement providing their contact number and submit it and we will act accordingly.”
Salle said the complaint together with the evidence provided would be shown to the driver as proof and arrests could be made.
He said people had to report these cases to assist traffic police, if they did not the officers could not do anything.