Petition Filed in SCP to stop work on Metero Bus in ISL-RWP

[SBD-3]

Asad Umar (PTI) and Mushahid Hussain Syed (PML-Q) filed a petition in SCP to order a halt on Metero-Bus project in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

 

[Leader]

great, hope the court will decide in favor of the the people of islamabad and force these thekedar govt to change the course of this stupid project, made for kickbacks.

 

[Leader]

https://twitter.com/x/status/465380721440202753

the 14km islamabad route covered by the metro bus costing 24 billion...according to asian development bank study should cost 4 billion!!!

 

[airmarshal]

Jungla bus must be stopped. This project will be a disaster for Islamabad green belts. ITs a short sighted project by a myopic and foolish leadership. Its meant to be a visible project to show PMLN leadership is doing something. In the long run its a very expensive project.

 

[WAR-rior]

If all this problem is there why not go for underground?

Waise bhi, if 4 bn project can be accounted as 24 bn. Underground will cost only around 8-10 bn at max. Still affordable.

 

[Tameem]

Asad Umar (PTI) and Mushahid Hussain Syed (PML-Q) filed a petition in SCP to order a halt on Metero-Bus project in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

They are probably right this time, Bcz successfull operation of Metro Bus System in Lahore was actually the main reasons of PTI defeat in May 2013 Elections. They should immediately stop this commuter friendly system before its too late in RWP/ISL as well.

 

[farhanalee7]

They are probably right this time, Bcz successfull operation of Metro Bus System in Lahore was actually the main reasons of PTI defeat in May 2013 Elections. They should immediately stop this commuter friendly system before its too late in RWP/ISL as well.

Look at its cost brother.. Metro is visibly a good project but Punjab Govt spent alot on it...The Metro Bus Service, launched at a cost of Rs30 billion(although many say it’s understatement) for a 27-kilometre route in the provincial metropolis, is causing a daily loss of Rs5 million.While a passenger pays Rs20 for one-way travel, the government has to pay a subsidy of Rs40.

 

[ryzvonusef]

https://twitter.com/x/status/465380721440202753

the 14km islamabad route covered by the metro bus costing 24 billion...according to asian development bank study should cost 4 billion!!!

Sad to see Asad Umar playing with figures!

Here the actual ADB 2012 report: cdia[dot]asia/wp-content/uploads/Islamabad-BRT-Marketing-Brochure[dot]pdf

Here is what it says:

Although yet to be verified through further feasibility assessment, indicative capital costs for the BRT system are estimated at US$ 79 million, and annual operating costs at US$ 3.8 million. Passenger demand, although extremely difficult to estimate due to the absence of prior travel demand data and traffic count limitations at this early stage, is estimated to be up to 42,000 passengers per day initially. Potential future connections to Rawalpindi would result in dramatic increases in ridership, potentially by a factor of three or more.

Here are three key facts from this para in the report:

1- USD 79 Million is ~PKR 7 Billion, so that figure is wrong in itself!

2- This figure was stated BEFORE any feasibility study was carried out! It was guess work! There is no concrete basis on which that figure was based.

3- That BRT was for ISLAMABAD ONLY, using simple marked bus lanes on wide Islamabad roads.


Some other points.

There are three projects covered in the ~40 Billion project.

1- Rawalpindi Raised track + Stops, which is very costly, but very necessary, because Murree Road simply doesn't have the space on Ordinary buses (have you actually witnessed the rush?) nor for separate bus lane on the ground (it simply doesn't have space to expand)

2- Peshawar Morr Interchange, an unrelated project of CDA that was due next year or so, and govt decided to move it up, because it would be absurd to make Metro track only to uproot in next year for Interchange.

3- Islamabad reserved Track + Bus stops. This will include clearing CDA reserved Right-Of-Way, which are NOT Green Belts, but are meant for road expansion, and have been used in the past, e.g. 7th Av, 9th Av, Zero Point Interchange, Jinnah|Faisal Interchange etc etc without any "environmental" protest.


This project is meant to shuttle the heavy commuter traffic from their Residences in Rawalpindi to their places of work/study/business in Blue Area and Pak Secretariat, and back. This forms the BULK of the commuter traffic between inter-city, and as some one who *actually* goes on wagons, realises the significance of this.Right now, it's CHEAPER to travel on motor bike than wagons from Pindi to Islamabad, with less hectic. (One litre petrol roughly covers two days on going and coming, and costs less than suzukis and wagons). But if Metro Bus starts and it can take us to Islamabad in ~15 min in 20/-, that would be amazing, and people will no longer need bikes or cars for daily commute, which means less rush on road, and less expenditure of foreign exchequer.

Also, this track is being built stronger to be able to be upgradeable to LRT when the time comes, so it is future-proof.

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People don't see the big picture. People who live in Islamabad don't use Public Transport, because usually if you can afford to live in Islamabad, you can afford car/bike/taxi. This is for people who work in Islamabad, but have to live in Rawalpindi because they can't afford Islamabad rent!

People like my father, a steno in Govt office, who had to shuttle from Pindi to Islamabad and back daily, and had to suffer abuse from wagons and carried around like a sack. He is now retired, but if such a project had been in his life time, we could have lived in further away in an even cheaper place, and save on rent.
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So sad to see Asad Umar making political games, sadly he never has to go on wagon, so he has no idea how much desperately we are waiting for a proper bus system.

I voted for IK in NA-56, but sadly he has never come back and asked his constituents what they want, if he had, he would understand how much they need this BRT.PTI should appreciate a good thing, and not make false facts to shut it down.

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[SBD-3]

Look at its cost brother.. Metro is visibly a good project but Punjab Govt spent alot on it...The Metro Bus Service, launched at a cost of Rs30 billion(although many say it’s understatement) for a 27-kilometre route in the provincial metropolis, is causing a daily loss of Rs5 million.While a passenger pays Rs20 for one-way travel, the government has to pay a subsidy of Rs40.

As with the great majority of BRT systems globally, the Islamabad BRT system will require an operating subsidy from government, as part of Government’s contribution to the task of providing equitable mobility for all. Again however, if system expansion to Rawalpindi and other areas becomes a reality, it could have a substantial positive financial impact due to increased ridership, potentially reducing the subsidy amount over the long term
http://cdia.asia/wp-content/uploads/Islamabad-BRT-Marketing-Brochure.pdf

 

[dawn_news]

This project also include Peshawar mor,

So cost of Peshawar Mor Rs 5 billion is also included in metro bus budget. Imran Khan has talked so much against metro bus that in one interview he said that he will not build metro bus in Peshawar even if Federal Goverment payed for it. Let alone provincial goverment of KPK doing it.

great, hope the court will decide in favor of the the people of islamabad and force these thekedar govt to change the course of this stupid project, made for kickbacks.

Yes lets stop it, its not like only 4 months are left for it to be completed.

RAWALPINDI-ISLAMABAD | Metro Bus System | Infrastructure | U/C - Page 48 - SkyscraperCity

Residents of twin cities waiting anxiously for Metro Bus

Syed Awad

Saturday, May 10, 2014 - Islamabad—Though the excavation work for metro bus project along 9th avenue, between I. J. Principal Road and Peshawar Mor is causing inconvenience to commuters of twin cities, still they are waiting anxiously for this project to complete so that they could get rid of the hectic, costly and old transport system. The residents of twin cities expressed their satisfaction over the fast-track metro bus project and termed this a positive step of the government towards providing a fast, luxurious and affordable transport service to 150,000 commuters on daily basis.
Fahad Abbasi, a student told the Pakistan Observer that people are facing great difficulty in reaching their destination in time because there is no proper transport facility while the fares of fares of public transport and taxis are also very high. Metro bus project will provide easy and swift access to commuters of twin cities. “It will end the monopoly and discomfort of current public transport system,” he added. The transportation has always remained a major problem for the commuters of twin cities as most of the time they have to change more than two vans to reach one city to another. Keeping this aspect in view the sitting government has taken this step so that the people of twin cities have a better transport system.

A female passenger, Naheed Mukhtar told the Pakistan Observer that the attitude of conductors of local vans is very rude and insulting. The number of public transport vehicles is small and only front seat is reserved for females but the drivers usually allow male passengers to grab that seat too. “But after metro bus project the miseries of the commuters will end and they will be able to commute in a peaceful, affordable and respectable manner,” she added. Majority of people want that the government should also start or link the metro bus project to the suburban areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad so that the passengers coming from these areas could also be facilitated.

However, a section of society expressed their concerns over cutting down of green belts and the inconvenience which the citizens will face throughout the construction period. Babar Kahn, a resident of sector F-10 told the Pakistan Observer that it has become difficult to travel between the sectors and it took much time to find a way across major sectors like G-9, G-8, I-8, I-9 and F-10. “The situation became worse during school times,” he added.

However, to ease the citizen’s miseries, Islamabad Traffic Police have also announced a diversion plan for traffic during the construction work of metro bus project. Regarding excavation of green belts, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials claimed that at the time of construction of 7th and 9th Avenue, the civic body transplanted the grown-up trees to other places and planted almost three times more plants than the already existing trees on these belts and the same would be done for this project.

Look at its cost brother.. Metro is visibly a good project but Punjab Govt spent alot on it...The Metro Bus Service, launched at a cost of Rs30 billion(although many say it’s understatement) for a 27-kilometre route in the provincial metropolis, is causing a daily loss of Rs5 million.While a passenger pays Rs20 for one-way travel, the government has to pay a subsidy of Rs40.

I think they don't understand that whole infrastructure is needed to be build instead of just buying few buses. Anyway another good news, even Multan will get Metro bus next year.

 

[Edevelop]

This project also include Peshawar mor,

The Project also includes an elevated section in Pindi for future Light Rail

 

[Leader]

If its what the nooners are claiming, then seriously SC will decide in their favor in weeks, why crying?

 

[dawn_news]

The Project also includes an elevated section in Pindi for future Light Rail

Exactly, one just need to see on skyscraper forum how much construction is going on because of this project. Peshawar mor for exemple was long term project, but they started to build now because of metro bus. In future it would have been many times more expensive.

If its what the nooners are claiming, then seriously SC will decide in their favor in weeks, why crying?

Pakistani courts are a joke, just look at what happened in Karachi flyover. Work was stopped half way by court and everything is destroyed there.

 

[Leader]

Pakistani courts are a joke, just look at what happened in Karachi flyover. Work was stopped half way by court and everything is destroyed there.

that Karachi flyover whatever was being built was illegal, as Bahria town didnt have fulfilled requirements of the environmental laws, they also destroyed a historic monument... I think they should be punished there.

secondly, these noooras are bigger jokers, they cannot loot the public money, not untill PTI is here to defend the public interests and public money, and court will decide according to law whether laws are not broken in this metro or if 20 billion alleged corruption by pmln is found true... these nooras are lowest form humans, they do big time corruption in metro projects, like they did in Lahore one and later burnt the whole record of LDA by setting it on fire, such criminals that they let 5-7 people burnt alive in that fire !

 

[Chak Bamu]

Bad initiative. When the construction stops and the incomplete civil works do nothing but create hindrance in traffic flow, people would be free to appoint blame. Some will blame PTI, some will blame PML-N, some might even blame Supreme Court. In the end, it would turn out of have been a bad decision all around.

This is typical vote-bank politics. But the true shock would be the SC decision. PML-N might come out the winner even if the court forces a redesign. Any shortcomings would be heaped on PTI, and people who use Metro would give credit to PML-N.

Bad politics for PTI. They can not beat PML-N like this.