Question

Asalamualykum
Sometimes I travel on the bus with my children.On the bus website it states for children 5 and above a bus ticket has to be purchased. When I am boarding the bus and let the driver know I have to pay many drivers dismiss this and say its fine and don’t worry about it Some drivers do accept my request and allow me to pay What do I do? Is it permissble for me to not pay upon the drivers refusal or do I still owe the company money Also I’m not sure how many rides I have taken in total Jazakallah please advise

Answer

May Allah Almighty accept your honesty and instil the same within your children also, amin.

If it is stated on the website that a bus ticket has to be purchased for children 5 and above then you would have to purchase a ticket. It doesn’t seem as though the bus driver has the authority to waive the bus fare. Therefore, you would still owe the bus company payments. It would be advised to contact the bus company and inform them of the situation. If they then waive the payments then you will not have to pay. If the authorities mention that you should have paid, you should estimate the amount owed to the best of your ability and return it to the bus company.

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel