Closure causes Metro Bus to suffer around Rs55m loss

People commuting between twin cities facing hardships

RAWALPINDI: The Metro Bus Service has faced a whopping loss of more than Rs55 million under operational cost and revenue heads due to closure for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday owing to Azadi march of JUI-F.

Thousands of commuters including office workers, students, traders, and government officials were facing extreme difficulties due to closure of the service which runs between the twin cities.

Punjab Metro Bus Authority (MBA) had shut down Metro Bus operations in the twin cities on October 30, the day protesters descended on the federal capital. Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA), following government directions, had allocated the ground next to Metro Bus depot in Sector H-9 for the Azadi march. Subsequently, MBA handed over the Metro Bus depot to ICTA while the buses were moved to the elevated track between Saddar and Marir Hasan in Rawalpindi due to security threats.



Following this, the service between the twin cities was ceased. According to available information, the MBA wants to keep it closed in view of uncertain law and order situation.

In this regard, a senior MBA official told The Express Tribune that over 120,000 people commute on Metro Bus daily. Requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, he said the number could be verified from the counters of entry-exit gates of the Metro Bus Terminals and the sale of tickets.

Punjab MBA has faced a loss of more than Rs55 million in the last six days including Rs20.1 million under loss of sale of tickets and the remaining Rs35.5 million under operational cost of non-performing assets or simply speaking, the bus and infrastructure is there but not earning, while salaries, bills and interest and other such expenses are piling up.

Azadi march participants enjoy the day at the Islamabad Zoo. PHOTO: APP

On a question regarding the parking space of buses, the official said, they had demanded security for the depot from ICTA in black and white however, the administration gave alternative spots for parking.

The locations ICTA designated were not spacious enough to accommodate the long buses, he said. Thus, he added that the buses were parked on the elevated track in Rawalpindi while they hired guards from private firm for security of the buses. The official complained that neither the administration nor the police provided any kind of security.

People suffer

Further, the people are also going through a difficult situation as they are compelled to take poor public transport buses which do not even drop them off at their destinations. Many people have complained that the routes of many public transport buses get completed before they reach their destinations.

Muhammad Asghar and Naeem Akram said the closure of the metro bus was proving hard on them as they comfortably reached their workplaces in only Rs30 each side.

Similarly, a government employee, Tariq Mehmood, who has to travel for his job to Islamabad daily, said that he takes Metro Bus from the Waris Khan area in Rawalpindi for the two-way commute. The closure of service was causing mental agony and financial loss too, he said.

Mahmood added that no public transport vehicle dropped him to his office directly and he was compelled to pay the extra fare of a taxi from a certain spot every day to reach his office.

Marchers out and about

Meanwhile, the Azadi march protestors took to the streets of the capital in a different way. Groups of protestors were seen enjoying a day out in the town visiting the popular sites. Some marchers spent the day at Marghzar Zoo, while others were seen strolling in high-end malls of the federal capital.

However, on the Sector H-9 ground, people spent the day relaxing in the Metro Bus Terminal, playing volley ball and traditional games. Others took the time to wash up and prepare for the jalsa at night.

Vendors have set up several food stalls near the ground from where the participants purchase snacks and sweets on nominal rates.

Meanwhile, many marchers were cooking their own food. People have formed groups of up to sixty people. Each individual pitches in the cost of ingredients and the group enjoy meals. They also offer prayers together.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2019.