Operators urged to be reasonable with fees

 PUBLIC Motor Vehicle (PMV) operators in Port Moresby have to be reasonable in charging their fares, a Port Moresby resident says. 

Lima Nadah, a janitor and a mother of five who lives at 5-Mile and travels to work at Central Waigani raised the concern following concerns that PMV operators have increased their fares to more than 50 or even 100 per cent of the normal fees. 

“Normal we used to pay 50 toea to get from Gordon to Waigani, but then it went up to K1. I don’t feel good about that sudden increase in the PMV fares,” Nadah said.

Similar sentiments were shared by other residents in the city as they noted PMV fares have gone up within the Pacific Games period.

Jimmy Mai, an administration officer at the Divine Word University Port Moresby campus, said he was paying K5 per day for PMV fares to get from Gerehu to Waigani for the past four days for work.   

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) when contacted yesterday urged the travelling public to report any PMVs to the commission if they (travelling public) come across similar situations.

ICCC said that decision to increase the PMV fares should have been done in consultation with the commission.

According to the commission, 90 toea was the fare to be charged for a complete route and not more than that. 

The Department of Transport, in a paid advertisement, noted an increasing trend of PMV operators failing to strictly adhere to licence conditions.

“It is evident that there has been an increase and gross abuse of the PMV licensing conditions,” Secretary of Transport and Superintendent of Motor Traffic Roy Mumu said.