New buses planned for DHA, Model Town

LAHORE: The Lahore Transport Company (LTC) plans to start four new luxury bus routes covering the city’s more upscale neighbourhoods like Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Model Town and Gulberg.

The measure should ease traffic and discourage dependency on personal conveyance, said Dr Asad Rehman Gilani, general manager of the LTC for operations and planning. The LTC conducted a survey, titled Original Destination, between June and July to observe where the residents of Lahore’s posher localities go for work, recreation, study and shopping, he said. It determined that it could serve the most people by running buses between DHA and Model Town, DHA and Civil Secretariat, Shahdara and Railway Station and Shahdara and Shadman.

The LTC has invited private companies to submit proposals to import 50 new or reconditioned buses to run the new routes. The proposals must be for medium-sized, air-conditioned buses, about the same size as a Coaster, said Dr Gilani. The deadline for submission is in the third week of August, and the LTC will give preference to proposals for buses with built-in ticketing systems, he added.

Another LTC official said that the company had acquired land in Model Town and DHA to build terminals for the new bus routes. The DHA has provided 35 kanals near Khiaban-i-Iqbal and Model Town has given 15 kanals near the Community Centre. The flat fare for the route will be between Rs20 and Rs40, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2010.