School Van Fares in Islamabad and Rawalpindi Rise by Up to 40% After Petrol Price Hike
Parents in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are facing monthly school van fare increases of Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000, with operators citing higher fuel and maintenance costs and no regulatory oversight in place.
School van operators in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have raised monthly transportation charges by up to 40% after the latest increase in petrol prices, placing additional strain on household budgets already stretched by inflation. Parents report that van owners are demanding an extra Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000 per month, with little to no regulatory oversight of the fares.
The increases affect even short routes. One mother of two said her children's van driver raised the monthly fare from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 8,000 for a roughly ten-minute journey between G-10 and a school in F-7. She questioned the size of the hike, noting that the government has also announced a petrol subsidy for vehicles with engines of up to 800cc.
Parents have also complained that operators continue to collect full monthly fees during summer and winter vacations, when schools are closed, and that families have no clear channel to challenge the charges. Because the sector is largely unregulated, fare decisions are left to individual operators, leaving parents with limited options beyond paying or finding alternative transport.
Van owners defended the increases, pointing to higher petrol and CNG prices, rising vehicle maintenance costs and traffic fines. One operator said running the vans at previous rates had become unviable, and estimated that monthly fares had gone up by about Rs. 1,500, an amount he described as justified.
The operator added that parents often overlook other costs, including driver salaries and commissions paid to schools, when assessing how much profit van owners make. Besides fuel, he said, the cumulative effect of operating expenses had forced operators to revise their rates.
The fare hike comes at a time when transport costs are already a significant part of household spending in the twin cities. With no standardised fare structure or oversight body in place, parents say they are absorbing the increases without recourse while school transport remains an essential service for many families.
