The Foton Bus Service remained suspended for a third day on Sunday, in protest at the vandalism of buses and beating and intimidation of drivers by college students.
Foton stopped running its buses on Friday after college students held up two buses and demanded to ride for free, thrashed the bus drivers and other crew members, vandalised the vehicles and even stole their money. This has happened several times since the service began in Lahore last month, including on its first day.
Students of public sector colleges have long used such tactics to reach an informal understanding with local transport companies that they will not pay for rides. However, the Chinese company was long wooed by the Punjab government to invest in public transport in the province and the company is putting pressure on local authorities to get the students to behave.
Lahore Transport Company (LTC) officials said they were optimistic that Foton would restart the service on Monday, after assurances from local authorities and the police that their buses would be protected, as well as discussions with student groups.
“Foton has assured us that they will run their buses on Monday,” said Tanveer Sadiq, LTC’s senior operations manager. “We have been meeting with student leaders and groups to resolve the problem.” He said that the police had pledged to protect Foton’s buses.
LTC Chairman Khawaja Hassaan told The Express Tribune that the company had written to all government colleges to propose that they incorporate bus fares in their fees, which would remove their incentive to hold up and vandalise buses. “We are meeting with students and teachers to decide the tariff,” he said. “The buses are meant to make travel more convenient for the students so they should not be breaking them.”
However, he added, the LTC would not be able to make bus cards for students of all public and private colleges, so a separate proposal to reduce bus fares was also under consideration. “We are considering reducing the fare between stops from Rs15 to Rs5, and on long journeys from Rs30 to Rs10,” he said.
Transport competition
Foton and LTC officials said that they suspected local transport companies had paid people to pose as students and disrupt their service, as the Chinese company’s entry in the public transport sector signalled unwelcome competition.
Hasasan said that local transport “mafias” may be involved in the attacks on Foton buses. “The rickshaw mafia and wagon mafia don’t want buses to prosper,” he said. “We are keeping an eye on all the mafias and will take action against them if they are involved.”
Arshad Khan Niazi, owner of a well-known transport company, denied that his company was involved in any such business. “We are not gangsters who hire thugs to trouble other businesses,” he said.
He said that local transport companies were accustomed to the “tough environment” created by the students but continued to operate. “We believe in forgive and forget since maintaining good relations with our customers is important, unlike foreign companies that are only here to mint money,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2011.
COMMENTS (11)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
These students must be fans of Mumtaz Qadri. If taking innocent life is celebrated than what is a little violence to dodge fare. Unfortunately we ourself have created this Frankenstein of violence and are now paying for it.
I have not heard of such things happening in India. As a student in India, I have used students bus passes from the local transport company to ride on the buses. These transport companies were (are) public sector entities and the passes were subsidized.
In my college days the students of MAO College use to hit the headlines with such deeds.
In an overpopulated multimillion city like Lahore, public transportation such as overloaded wagons and buses, is no solution for a healthy economy and the ecology.
Lahore has topped the list of most polluted cities with highest air pollution level of 121.85 micrograms per cubic meter that is three times higher than the safe standards, followed by Peshawar and the Federal Capital......Nation, 12th dec.2011
Unfortunately we must spend trillions of dollars for atom bombs, instead of building rapid underground transit railways in all major cities of Pakistan!
I can't understand why students should not pay. Even giving students a discount is unfair to others. I say, recover full fare from students, otherwise the bus company will go bankrupt.
transport should be available whatever the circumstances.
tell me if these sort of things DO NOT happen in other sub-continent countries!
Students should behave, Foton should also give concession to genuine students
Well, this student ride for free demands happens only on Lahore .. but never in Karachi
Obviously, it happens every where. It used to happen in USA, UK and Germany until these three issued a card to the students to show upon entering the bus. The card was swapped, very nominal money deducted, and there u go, sit and enjoy the ride.
@MANJIT SINGH: means it happens in india too ;)
So this happens in pakistan also!