Eidul Fitr is a few days away and people who work away from home in Karachi are rushing to Sohrab Goth to book bus seats so they can make it in time to celebrate with family.

“We book tickets in advance, preferably in the start of Ramadan, so that we have our seats reserved and can spend our Eid with family and friends,” said Dilawar Abbasi, who runs a restaurant in Karachi.

The trouble is, however, that the app, websites and telephone book systems don’t always work and most people find it easier to book their tickets manually.

“Ticket booking from the terminal is often a better option as chances of mistakes are very little and it can be corrected instantly,” explained Umair Ahmed, a student from Ghotki studying business.

Slightly more experienced companies like Daewoo entice passengers with discounts on fares if they book through the website.

Many people found this time round, fare have gone up as petrol is more expensive. Naik Zada, a ticket issuer at Shaheen Express, said that they expect fares will keep in line with fuel prices.

This is indeed the case with Faisal Movers. “Our prices neither go up on specific events or occasions nor do they go down as discounts. They are purely based upon the petrol rates,” said Muhammad Usman, an employee at Faisal Movers.

According to him, laborers use this service more as it offers cheaper tickets. Regular fare for an economy class seat is Rs3,500 on the Karachi-Islamabad route. The fares for Karachi to Hyderabad and Peshawar are Rs500 and Rs4,000, respectively. Karachi to Lahore costs Rs4,000 for business class which is the only service they offer for Lahore.

Faisal Movers (Economy regular)

1. Karachi-Islamabad = Rs3,500
2. Karachi-Hyderabad = Rs500
3. Karachi-Peshawar = Rs4,000
4. Karachi-Lahore = Rs4,000 (business)

Faisal Movers charges Rs3,900 for executive class and Rs4,900 for a business class seat for Lahore. While for other major cities like Islamabad, the fares from Karachi are Rs4,100 for the executive class and Rs4,100 for business.

For Peshawar, they charge Rs4,600 for the standard seat, while the charges for standard plus are Rs5,600 per seat. The Karachi-Hyderabad fares are Rs350 for executive class and Rs500 for the standard plus executive.

Faisal Movers operates on Eid days but seats are subject to availability. “Right now, no seat is available for Eid days,” mentioned Usman. “Even last year at least 30 vehicles departed during the last four days before Eid.”

The Faisal Mover buses can accommodate 45 people each, which means roughly 1,500 people were boarded last year to leave Karachi for Eid.

The smaller Shaheen Express line, for example, had six buses with 50 passengers each, which came to 300 in total for the four days ahead of Eid.