The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) says it is unable to set the right fares for alternate routes used by public transportation compared to the ones already approved by the authority.

This was revealed by the ICCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner Mr. Roy Daggy when addressing complaints from the public regarding Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs) taking shortcuts or alternate routes from the approved ones and charging extra fares.

He explained that in cities like Port Moresby, which is expending at a faster rate, new roads are built and PMV operators sometimes utilize these new routes, or they take an existing alternate route for the sake of efficiency, a quicker route enabling good turnaround time for the PMV buses is an idle option to operators.

This he said has created an additional problem for authorities to monitor the routes and fares charged to passengers. However, this issue is not unsolvable.

“The ICCC also noted that there were some new routes being utilized out of necessity given the growth in population and expansion of geographic boundaries,” said the Commissioner.

Upon explaining this, he said that there is nothing the ICCC can do to address this matter because they are not responsible for allocating fares for these routes.

“The ICCC will only set fares for routes that were designated by the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) and its predecessors. Until such time that those new routes are approved by the RTA, then the ICCC will come in to set fares.”

In saying this, Commission Daggy said it is up to the partners of ICCC- RTA and the traffic police, to crack down on PMV buses that are doing it so that authorized routes are used and proper monitoring is conducted.