No end in sight to transport woes

Govt considers bringing new buses, offering concession on Orange Line

LAHORE:

The provincial capital is facing a public transport crisis as the Metrobus and Orange Line Train services have failed to ease the problems faced by the citizens despite the expenditure of billions of rupees on subsidies.

Empty Speedo buses running on the roads make evident the failure of the provincial government's planning in the sector.

Punjab Transport Company reportedly plans to operate 160 new buses in the province in the next six months.

After the previous rulers, the incumbent government also appears to be struggling to provide affordable and standard public transport services to the citizens of the provincial capital. Not a single public transport bus is currently available for a population of about 15 million in Lahore.

The bus services on 19 routes in Lahore were discontinued more than a year ago, but no major step has been witnessed to address the situation except changing the name of the company. The Lahore Transport Company has been renamed as Punjab Transport Company and now it will operate at the provincial level.

However, improving the disappointing performance of the transport sector will be a challenge for the government. No investment has been made on public transport buses in Lahore for several years due to heavy subsidy on the metro services. That is why the contractors took their buses out of the LTC due to government inattention and the service was ultimately stopped on all 19 routes.

Contrary to the claims of the Punjab Mass Transit Authority, white elephants like the Orange Train and Metrobus are providing transport facility to only a few thousand people daily due to their specific routes. Punjab Mass Transit Authority has reportedly sent recommendations to the government for increasing the number of passengers on metro train.

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According to sources, the authority has requested the government to introduce distance-based fares for the passengers. It has also recommended the introduction of cards to allow free travel for senior citizens. A official said that under the proposals, free of charge travel would allowed for people with special needs and discount for students, government employees and working women. Cards would be issued to those eligible for the concessions.

The recommendations include allowing unlimited travel on the service through weekly and monthly cards.

Meanwhile, the Speedo buses running on the Metrobus feeder routes take passengers from different locations to the stations. However, due to the low number of passengers in the Metrobus, most of the buses are seen traveling with only a few passengers.

On the other hand, citizens in other areas are forced to travel on expensive taxis or unsafe motorcycle rickshaws due to unavailability of public transport. Motorcycle rickshaws are currently the largest means of public transport in Lahore, but they are frequently involved in accidents.

The lack of public transport has also resulted in an increased use of private vehicles, leading to heavy load of traffic on the roads.

Punjab Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khichi told The Express Tribune that the government would invest Rs3.5 billion on the improvement of the sector in the province.

He said work was in full swing to run a fleet of 50 buses in Lahore under the Punjab Transport Company. The buses running on different routes in the provincial capital will be eco-friendly, according to the Euro-6 standards.

The minister said another 100 buses would be run in Faisalabad. Preparations have also been completed to purchase 10 buses for Bahawalpur.

Thus in the next six months, 160 buses will run in Lahore, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur. The minster said steps were also being taken to keep the Metrobus operational. The Punjab Mass Transit Authority will add 64 new buses to the Lahore Metrobus system by the end of August. Of the buses,  16 have reached the Lahore Metrobus Depot, the remaining 48 will arrive by August 15.

The minister said Punjab Mass Transit Authority had submitted recommendations to increase the number of passengers of metro train and reduce the subsidy, which would help improve the operation of the mega projects.

Mohammad Waqas, a student of a university 18km away from his home, said he travelled halfway on Metrobus and the rest of the distance on a cab or rickshaw, costing up to Rs400 daily. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2021.