Pindi approves two bus routes to IIA
Fares on these routes to be decided in a meeting slated for next week
PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
To facilitate the public commuting to and from the Islamabad International Airport (IIA), the Rawalpindi district administration on Saturday approved two new public transport routes connecting the city to the airport.
Separately, a route for an air-conditioned coach service from Rawat to Taxila has also been approved.
Rawalpindi Commissioner Muhammad Mahmood on Saturday said that the first route will commence from Rawat and pass through the Soan bus yard, the high court, Fauji Foundation, district courts and Kutchery Chown and then on to IIA.
The second route will commence from Koral Chowk, progressing to Gulzar-e-Quaid, Shah Khalid Colony, old Benazir Bhutto International Airport, district courts and Kuchery Chowk and then on to the airport.
From Kuchery Chowk onwards, both routes will converge proceeding to Saddar, Qasim Market, Westridge, Johar Chowk, Kohinoor Mills and then the airport. They will also share the bus stops erected along this route. Commenting on the new routes, the commissioner said that they have decided to summon a key meeting next week to discuss the matter further, including deliberation and decision on the fare for the route.
The district administration now wants to start a public transport service on these routes under any circumstance, Commissioner Mahmood said.
He added that ever since the airport started fielding commercial flights two years ago, no cogent public transport system to connect the airport to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has been set up. The resultant vacuum has allowed transporters, particularly taxi drivers, to fleece residents who want to travel to and from the new airport.
To inculcate competition to keep the fares down, Mahmood said that the district administration has decided that transport companies, individual transporters or groups of transporters will be allowed to obtain permits for these routes.
Transporters, though, will be required to ensure that there is sufficient space in their vehicles to accommodate bulky luggage of the passengers.
Meanwhile, the official said that at least 12 transporters have applied for the air-conditioned coach route from Rawat to Taxila. These permits are expected to be issued by March 15 after they have been processed and all other formalities have been fulfilled. Thereafter, transporters will be given a window of two to three weeks to launch their services.
The central stands for all three routes will be situated at Rawat, IIA and Taxila, respectively.
In January, a meeting of the Rawalpindi District Transport Board (RDTB) had invited applications from bus owners to seek permits to ply their vehicles between the designated stops in Rawalpindi and the airport.
The transport board had expected that at least 10 buses will ply each of the two routes and the district administration had subsequently decided to limit the maximum fare for air-conditioned buses on these two routes to Rs200 for each end-to-end ride. The minimum fare between two stops was suggested to be Rs50.
This is the latest attempt by the district administration to solve the issue of providing public transport to the airport. Previously, the district administration had offered private transport companies to obtain exclusive permits for these routes to, but due to the high fares and strict conditions of the companies, the transport board decided to invite open bids for this important route.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2020.
To facilitate the public commuting to and from the Islamabad International Airport (IIA), the Rawalpindi district administration on Saturday approved two new public transport routes connecting the city to the airport.
Separately, a route for an air-conditioned coach service from Rawat to Taxila has also been approved.
Rawalpindi Commissioner Muhammad Mahmood on Saturday said that the first route will commence from Rawat and pass through the Soan bus yard, the high court, Fauji Foundation, district courts and Kutchery Chown and then on to IIA.
The second route will commence from Koral Chowk, progressing to Gulzar-e-Quaid, Shah Khalid Colony, old Benazir Bhutto International Airport, district courts and Kuchery Chowk and then on to the airport.
From Kuchery Chowk onwards, both routes will converge proceeding to Saddar, Qasim Market, Westridge, Johar Chowk, Kohinoor Mills and then the airport. They will also share the bus stops erected along this route. Commenting on the new routes, the commissioner said that they have decided to summon a key meeting next week to discuss the matter further, including deliberation and decision on the fare for the route.
The district administration now wants to start a public transport service on these routes under any circumstance, Commissioner Mahmood said.
He added that ever since the airport started fielding commercial flights two years ago, no cogent public transport system to connect the airport to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has been set up. The resultant vacuum has allowed transporters, particularly taxi drivers, to fleece residents who want to travel to and from the new airport.
To inculcate competition to keep the fares down, Mahmood said that the district administration has decided that transport companies, individual transporters or groups of transporters will be allowed to obtain permits for these routes.
Transporters, though, will be required to ensure that there is sufficient space in their vehicles to accommodate bulky luggage of the passengers.
Meanwhile, the official said that at least 12 transporters have applied for the air-conditioned coach route from Rawat to Taxila. These permits are expected to be issued by March 15 after they have been processed and all other formalities have been fulfilled. Thereafter, transporters will be given a window of two to three weeks to launch their services.
The central stands for all three routes will be situated at Rawat, IIA and Taxila, respectively.
In January, a meeting of the Rawalpindi District Transport Board (RDTB) had invited applications from bus owners to seek permits to ply their vehicles between the designated stops in Rawalpindi and the airport.
The transport board had expected that at least 10 buses will ply each of the two routes and the district administration had subsequently decided to limit the maximum fare for air-conditioned buses on these two routes to Rs200 for each end-to-end ride. The minimum fare between two stops was suggested to be Rs50.
This is the latest attempt by the district administration to solve the issue of providing public transport to the airport. Previously, the district administration had offered private transport companies to obtain exclusive permits for these routes to, but due to the high fares and strict conditions of the companies, the transport board decided to invite open bids for this important route.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2020.