As petrol goes cheaper, commuters demand fare reduction

As the oil prices have progressively dropped during past six months, the commuters in Kashmir are demanding reduction in passenger fares.
The commuters said on every petrol/diesel price increase the transporters demand hike in fares. “But now when the petrol/diesel prices have sharply come down they are silent,” they said.
“Surprisingly, the authorities too seem to have chosen to keep mum on the issue while the commuters are being fleeced by the transporters,” they said.
“Almost 90 per cent people in Kashmir use public transport. It includes employees of public and private sector, students, laborers and others. The cut in oil prices should benefit the common man on the road, not a few members of the society who happen to be the transporters,” Ashiq Majid, a commuter, said.
With international crude oil rates slipping below $55 a barrel, the petrol and diesel prices have sharply come down. The petrol prices in Srinagar fell from Rs 79/ litre some six months ago to Rs 69/litre today. The prices of diesel have also come down by the same percentage.
“The authorities should immediately issue new rate list for the fares. Not only that the prices of essential commodities should also come down as the transport for the import and export has become cheaper,”  Waseem Baba, a student of Economics said.
He said the prices of edibles go higher as the cost of petrol and diesel increases. “The prices of food grains should logically go down with reduction in oil prices,” he added.