Lahore welcomes Pakistan's first city buses

[Tiger Awan]

Lahore welcomes Pakistan's first city buses - Central Asia Online

LAHORE – As Pakistan's new Metro Bus System (MBS) nears its second week of service, Lahore commuters are breathing a sigh of relief as they realise how much easier and cost-efficient their daily travels have become.


Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif formally launched the country's first city-run bus service on February 10, and it opened to the public the next day.

Now, those living or working along the route have been freed from their routine of stitching together privately operated buses, mini-buses, taxis and motorised rickshaws to travel.

"This is marvellous," Zameer, an office clerk, told Central Asia Online February 19. "I've never seen anything like it. The stations are so clean; the buses are so fancy. ... What used to cost me Rs. 55 (US 56 cents) on separate buses now requires a single Rs. 20 ticket (US 20 cents)."

"I used to change four buses and pay Rs. 70 (US 71 cents)," said another commuter, Rasheed, an office boy in Shahadra. "Now it's a single ticket and a single bus. I save Rs. 50 (US 51 cents) each way."

"It's very crowded right now, but it's a great service," said Sattar, as he looked for the right bus to take downtown. "It saves everyone time and money."

Forty-five articulated buses, which can hold up to 150 passengers each, travel the 27km route, which has 27 bus stations. The route extends from Gaju matta, a southern township, to Shahadra town in the north, passing through central Lahore. Only MBS buses can use the fenced-off route, sparing their passengers from traffic congestion.

"We will bring this service to Karachi next, and onward to every big city in Pakistan," Sharif said.

MBS to serve the masses
The first phase took 11 months to complete.

"The effort by the Punjab government is unmatched," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said. "To see this project to fruition in 11 months is an exemplary feat."

In its next phase of development, the system will have additional routes and 115 buses.

To date, the MBS has cost the provincial government Rs. 30 billion (US $300m).

The Turkish government and Al Buraq, a Turkish construction firm, provided construction and operational assistance after Istanbul offered to donate 100 old buses to Pakistan last year. The system includes electronic ticketing and modern terminals that can serve 112,000 passengers daily with a bus coming every three minutes.

So far, the reaction has been generally positive.

"If you look at what it does for Lahore, you cannot help but commend the route and the project," Tariq Mehmood, a former Pakistani Supreme Court justice, told Central Asia Online.

"It runs along the over-populated and over-congested areas and along the poorer localities," he said. "It seeks to cater to the common person."

News of the project spread throughout Pakistan, earning the admiration of Sindh Youth Minister Faisal Subzwari, who tweeted his congratulations to Sharif February 10, calling the MBS a "great initiative."

Even the Punjab political opposition acknowledged the project's value.

"All in all, it is a good service and a good effort," said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Secretary-General Arif Alvi, noting, however, that he didn't see it as a top priority for the country and that he would have preferred to see the money spent on education.

Meanwhile, Lahore residents seem to be enjoying the system.

Passengers were seen riding buses simply for pleasure on opening week, and the sight of happy young faces on packed buses made Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz spokesman Mushahidullah Khan smile as he spent the better part of a weekend riding up and down the route.

"It's not the politics that gives you a sense of achievement," he said. "It's seeing these projects come to fruition – seeing the difference they make in ordinary people's lives – that keeps you going."

Critics don't understand the misery from which the MBS has freed its passengers, said Ali Akhtar, an independent researcher for various international projects.

The average MBS rider "previously used to load into vehicles that met no safety standard or specification, in seats that are way too small and cabins that get extremely stuffy," he said. "The fact that [MBS] brings together those who use [those vehicles] and those who are driven around in cars should show that it is a success."

And some 110000 passenger travelled on Metro Bus on Friday ( numbers trough the e ticketing system ) Now where are those 20000 passenger based calculations

and its not just the Metro Bus passengers who are getting the benefit

 

[Tiger Awan]