Transport problems of Punjab could not be solved during the year 2020 and the facilities in the sector for the province's population of more than 120 million remained insufficient.
After a long wait of five years, the Orange Line Metro Train, the largest project in the transport sector in the history of the country, was inaugurated in the provincial capital.
However, the Lahore Transport Company, which is responsible for running local transport in the provincial capital, has suspended service on all routes. Basic facilities could not be provided at four government bus terminals.
Meanwhile, the daily expenses on providing subsidy on public transport in the province reached Rs50 million.
The Metrobus and Orange Line train projects worth billions of rupees have not been able to significantly reduce the difficulties faced by the citizens travelling in the provincial capital.
Amid insufficient benefits from the previous initiatives, the Punjab government announced the launch of a new service named 'Green Bus'.
With the problems of affordable public transport reaching the level of a crisis, no major project to address them could be launched in the province. Especially transport between towns is in a bad condition.
Substandard transport vehicles are also causing an increase in pollution.
Private companies are using substandard vehicles for inter-city bus services across the province, which has led to an increase in the number of traffic accidents. Hundreds of passengers are killed and injured in traffic accidents every year.
In the provincial capital, the Lahore Transport Company closed down all the routes after its buses turned eight years old. Sources said the cost of repairing the old buses was high, so the operators had stopped their service.
At the same time, companies modeled on the international online cab services also discontinued their service of over 150 air-conditioned coasters and buses. Only a few public transport buses are available for Lahore's population of over 10 million.
The number of private vehicles has rapidly increased due to the unavailability of public transport and the roads in Lahore remain jammed for hours.
Motorcycle rickshaws have become an important means of public transport due to the unavailability of buses for public transport.
According to an estimate, about 60% of the passengers traveling on public transport in the city are now riding motorcycle rickshaws.
The citizens were happy over the launching of metro train but it could not alleviate their difficulties.
With half the capacity being utilised by passengers traveling on the train, the ticket revenue does not cover the operational expenses of the service. A proposal is now being considered to discontinue public transport on roads along the Orange Line track to increase the number of passengers on the train service. All public transport, including rickshaws and vans, operating along the track will be stopped in phases.
In the year 2020, the people of the province were not provided much improved transport facilities but the subsidy in the sector increased further.
The per day subsidy on public transport in Lahore increased to Rs34.2 million, while the figure for the province reached Rs50 million.
The Punjab government has announced a plan to launch the Green Bus service in collaboration with the World Bank. Initially 100 buses will be run in Lahore and Faisalabad. The plan is aimed at solving the growing transport problems while also checking pollution caused by substandard vehicles.
Punjab Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khichi told The Express Tribune that efforts were being made to provide standard facilities to the people. "We are working on various proposals to improve the transport system.
Several projects are under consideration to upgrade the transport system in which the Green Bus service plan is important and paperwork for the scheme is underway, which we are committed to implementing as soon as possible," he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2021.
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