Agitation in twin cities: Metro Bus Service suffered Rs30m losses

LAHORE:

The recent agitation by some parties in Rawalpindi and Islamabad inflicted a loss of nearly Rs30 million on the Punjab Mass-transit Authority (PMA), PMA Operations General Manager Syed Uzair Shah says.

Shah told The Express Tribune on Monday the mob had attacked three metro bus stations; one of these had been “completely” destroyed. “They damaged steel fences in the corridor and some electrical and mechanical equipment,” Shah said. He said the authority had suspended bus operations for four days to avoid further losses.

Nearly 120,000 people travel by Rawalpindi Metro Bus everyday.

Shah said the suspension had caused great inconvenience to the commuters. “Around 4,000 to 5,000 passengers board from every station.”

The Lahore Metro Bus service from MAO College to Shahdara, too, has been partially suspended during recent weeks owing to security reasons. However, Shah said, this had not caused much loss to the authority.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2016.