Public at risk from overloaded vehicles

ISLAMABAD:

Overloading of public transport running between Islamabad and Rawalpindi is a serious threat to the lives of passengers.

Many schoolchildren can be seen on the roofs of buses, under the nose of the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP).

Thousands travel daily between the two cities for work and education; and many are forced use overloaded public transport.

Zahoor, a passenger, said that despite the deployment of ITP officials, overloading and rooftop passengers go unchecked. He added that conductors misbehave with him whenever he resists overloading. “We have no choice; transporters do not allow us to commute in vans, so we travel on the bus rooftops despite the dangers” said Bilal, a student who commutes daily between both cities.

An ITP official said it is passengers who force transporters to overload due to the shortage of public transport.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2015.