Metro bus back on track after disruption

Commuters in twin cities rejoice as bus service resumes after four-day suspension

RAWALPINDI:

The Islamabad administration announced the opening of all roads, including Faizabad and the red zone, on Tuesday evening and has started the work of removing the blockades.

The metro bus service running between the twin cities has been restored after more than four days of closure. However, due to lack of security clearance, the service from Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station to Ninth Avenue to Pak Secretariat Red Zone has remained closed for the fifth day.

Citizens breathed a sigh of relief after the opening of the only affordable public transport service. They requested that a policy should be formed to ensure that transport and businesses are not disrupted.

The metro bus service was suspended at 5pm on October 9, Thursday, after the TLP announced protests. A heavy contingent of police was present on the Rawalpindi to Faizabad track for security and the bus service was closed.

More than 135,000 to 150,000 passengers travel daily for extremely fares of just Rs30. The Punjab government also provides a subsidy of Rs30 per passenger to meet other expenses and necessities of the metro bus service. Government employees traveling between the twin cities due were unable to move back and forth due to the lockdown for more than four consecutive days. Workers as well as students and citizens were in great distress.

Finally, on Tuesday morning, the people of Rawalpindi and Islamabad breathed a sigh of relief as the metro bus service was partially restored from Rawalpindi Saddar Station to Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station, Ninth Avenue. However, the track from Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station to Pak Secretariat Station remained closed because of the presence of containers on the roads in the red zone including the area near D Chowk. The Orange Line bus service from Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station to Kashmir Highway, No. 26 Chungi and then to New Islamabad Airport was also restored.

A student, Kabir, said that he works as a part-time salesman alongside his studies and the only commute accessible to him was the metro bus service, which had been closed for four days, because of which he was limited to his home because. "I had to pay two to five hundred rupees to reach work on those four days."

A doctor of the government hospital, who did not want to be named, said that he goes to Rawalpindi on duty by metro bus, but the four-day closure also affected his budget. Even after pooling with fellow commuters, his expenses increased by at least three to four hundred rupees.

The Metro Bus Authority administration said that if the containers in Islamabad are removed, the Metro bus service in the twin cities will be fully operational from Wednesday morning.