Metro Bus Service to roll out today in twin cities

Passengers will be obliged to wear facemasks and maintain social distancing

RAWALPINDI:

Residents of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi who frequently commute between the two cities, heaved a sigh of relief on Tuesday after the Punjab government approved the resumption of the Metro Bus Service.

Shut for over five months as part of a lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which infected over 20,000 people in the two cities and claimed scores of lives, the service will ply once more from Wednesday (today).

A strict set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been prescribed for all who hope to travel on the service.

Rawalpindi Metro Bus Authority’s Senior Manager Shumaila Mohsin confirmed the resumption of the bus service to The Express Tribune.

She added that passengers will be obliged to follow all SOPs, which include wearing of face masks and maintenance of social distancing.

For this purpose, Moshin informed that they have placed distance markers at all terminals while sanitizers have been placed at different locations as well. Banners inscribed with precautionary guidelines have been installed at different spots, she added.

Further, she said that the SOPs will be reiterated periodically over the public address system in the terminals and buses.

The bus service was suspended on March 23 after the government imposed lockdown in the wake of the pandemic. After that, all the buses were parked at the main depot in Islamabad. The terminals were serviced periodically through the limited staff.

Most of the staff, however, faced financial difficulties and uncertainty over their future after the service cut their pay by 25% due to loss of business while the authority also stopped paying staff wages for a short while.

However, with the resumption of the service, all staffers have been summoned to their assigned duties. All terminals have been cleaned and disinfected to give a pleasant experience to passengers.

The senior manager said that female passengers will use the front door for entry and exit while male passengers will only use it to board the bus and use the centre door to disembark at their respective destination.

To prevent the crowding, she added that commuters will not be allowed to stand at the door before the bus at the terminals.

Following a decision by the National Command Centre, the Punjab government had on Monday lifted the lockdown, allowing most sectors to reopen per SOPs, except marriage halls and educational institutes.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2020.