Closure of long routes takes toll on bus staff

The  suspension  of  long  route intercity bus service has started taking a toll on essential  workers  associated with the business.

Almost  all  public  transport vehicles on long routes  have  been  closed for  the last  15  days  after  devastating floods washed away  roads  and  bridges in Balochistan, Sindh and South Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The  intercity  transport  from Rawalpindi to other cities  including Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad and Sukkur has  been  halted.

 As  a result, the essential staff including drivers, co-drivers, conductors, bus hostesses and booking  clerks  been  without  work,  rendering them empty-pocketed.

All 33 small and big transport stands in the twin  cities  of  Rawalpindi  and Islamabad  present  a  deserted  look  due  to  the  suspension of the intercity bus service and workers of these bus stands have been without  work  for  the  last over two weeks.

Families of the staff, who  are  associated  with  the  long  route  transport business, have been badly affected by the suspension of  the  service.  The transport  staff  said  that  they  were  forced  to  eat  meals from  Langar  Khana and other charity centres after the  suspension  of  the  intercity  bus  service since  August 26.

About 98 per cent of these staff  works  as  daily  wagers  and  on  commission and  with  the  closure  of the long routes, they have been facing starvation.

Bus hostesses  working  in  big  transport companies who were staying in hostels in Pirwadhai  and  Faizabad  have  been  evicted  from  hostels  for  non-payment of rent, while  their  owners have asked them to join duty  with  the  restoration  of long routes.

Izzatullah,  an  officer  of  a  big  transport  company,  said that 95 per cent of the employees in transport companies  either  worked on commission or as daily wagers. He said that their jobs  automatically  come  to  an  end  if  the  service remains suspended.

He said  that  only  five  to  six  per cent  of  staff  in  these companies work as regular staff.  He  said  that  hopefully all closed routes will be  opened  in  seven to  10 days and transporters will be allowed to operate buses on long routes. He said that negotiations have been held with the Regional Transport Authority in this regard.

Public  transport  on  all long routes will be restored by September 15, he said. Bus hostess Farida Jabeen said that their bus service between  Rawalpindi  and Karachi  has  been  stopped  since  August  26.  

She  said  that transport owners pay the  salary  and  commis-sion  only  if  the bus  service was operational. 

“We have earned nothing since August  26.  I  did  not  have money  to  pay  my hostel  rent  that  is  why  I  left  the  hostel and now live in the house  of  a  fellow hostess  house,”  she  said  adding  that to the service resumes in  two  to  three days, her employment  will  be  restored, otherwise, she will go  back  to hometown  in  Jhelum. 

She said that once she returned to her home, she  might  not  be  able  to  come back. Drivers Qasim Khan and Mehroz  Abbas  said  that they  have  started driving  rickshaws  due  to  the  closure  of  the  long  routes, in order to make a living.

They  said  that  scores  of long route drivers have become unemployed.
Security  guards, Humayun Khan and Shaukat Satti said that they should  be given  financial  assistance due to the stoppage  of  salary  and  loss  of  
employment.  

They said that they have been rendered jobless by floods and they needed financial help.

RTA  spokesperson  Rana  Sadaqat said that only long routes of flooded areas have been closed while all other routes were open.

He said that a large number of vehicles which used to ply between Rawalpindi  and  Karachi  and  Hyderabad,  now  ply  from Rawalpindi to Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Peshawar, Charsadda, Torkham, Gujranwala, Multan, Sargodha, Kohat, Khushab, Rahim Yar Khan and Azad Kashmir. 

He  said  that  the  train  service  will  be  restored  in  the first phase followed by the bus service. Due to the flood season, we have temporarily  allowed  vehicles to ply in any city without route permits, he added.