Twin cities’ inadequate public transport system

Public transport ploughing through the twin cities are not nearly enough to meet the growing demands of the people.

ISLAMABAD: Public transport vehicles ploughing through the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are not nearly enough to meet the growing demands of the people.

People face several challenges during their daily commutes. Many of them complain that the number of public transport vehicles in the twin cities is inadequate and say the government needs to take practical steps to launch a decent transport service for the twin cities.

Naseem Akhtar, a student, said the front seats of a van are supposed to be reserved for women, but they are often taken up by male passengers. “Ladies have it the worst,” she complained.

Muhammad Usman, a government employee, who commutes between the twin cities every day, said sometimes he had to wait for hours to catch a passenger van because taking a taxi was not feasible. “I can not afford to hire a taxi every day,” he said, adding that sometime passengers vans stuff commuters into the vans like cattle.

Haji Malik Nawab, President Transport Welfare Association of Islamabad, however, believes the transport currently available in the city is enough for its population.

He claimed that 1200 passengers vans are plying on eight routes, which are enough to meet the demands.

“Few government employees use public transport and most people use their own cars,” he added.

The capital’s administration has held several meetings with representatives of transport unions in the last six months for introduction of a modern transport system but in vain, according to Nawab.

He insisted the transporters will fully cooperate with the government if it decided to launch a new transport system.

Ramzan Sajid, spokesperson of Capital Development Authority, told The Express Tribune that a new transport system in the capital was “on the cards”.

In the first phase, 300 CNG buses will be launched in the city through a public-private venture, and in next phase, a Mass Transit System, comprising buses, mono-trains and tubes, will be set up, he explained.

Sajid, however, declined to comment on the delay in the launch of the Mass Transit System, which was announced several months ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2010.