Most public transport vehicles plying the various routes of the city do not complete their allotted routes, due to which commuters are facing a number of problems. This also belies the tall claims of the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) and the Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) of taking strict action against the transporters violating laws.
Most transporters do not complete their assigned routes, and this practise flourishes due to negligence of concerned authorities. When intending to return without completing the route, most public transport vehicles drop commuters at random points rather than at the designated busstops.
It has been noticed that transporters mostly commit this violation late in the evening, when the number of commuters starts decreasing. Relevant authorities need to take action against these violators, demanded commuters.
An official of the ITP said the police and ITA were both responsible for controlling such violations. Under the ITP’s rules and regulations, the organisation had the authority to cancel the route permit and driving licence of transporters not completing their routes, he added.
According to the motor vehicle ordinance, authorities are responsible for issuing a ticket to every vehicle from where its route commenced, and to check it in at the end of the route. However, negligence of the authorities concerned was allowing for the law to be flouted blatantly.
Travelling from Rawalpindi to Karachi Company, Adan Zeb said the passenger vans did not compete their routes when going back to Rawalpindi late in the evening – rather, they dropped commuters where ever they wanted. Such behaviour had forced people to contemplate using the more expensive alternative of taxis, he said.
“Several times transporters have dropped me off at the wrong stop, despite my having requested them repeatedly to drop me off at the proper stop,” a working woman, Syra, said.
Ali Hussain, an employee in a private company, criticised the transporters for wasting the commuters’ time.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Moen Masood said the traffic police was taking action against public transporters who did not complete their routes. “The ITP has issued thousands of challans to various vehicles for not completing their routes and has also impounded several vehicles,” he said.
He added that the ITP had now deployed traffic officials for checking the ticket at the end of the route.