In a delayed response to public transport woes in the provincial capital, Punjab government has finally added the much-awaited 56 new CNG buses to the fleet of public transport in the city with private partnership, which, many claim, is nothing more than a drop in the ocean as at least 2,000 buses are needed to cater to the city’s population of 10 million. The new buses are air-conditioned and are allocated to routes B-09, B-20 and B-33. Dilapidated and insufficient buses were previously catering to these routes. In a recent delivery from China, 111 new buses, including these 56, had come to Pakistan. The rest are yet to reach the city. “We have signed an agreement with a private company, Orbit, which will run 200 buses and the CM has also approved the plan of getting 700 more buses,” Lahore Transport Company spokesperson said, adding that 500 of these buses would be for Lahore and the remaining would be divided between Rawalpindi and Multan.
INAUGURATION OF BUSES: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said provision of modern transport facilities to the people was among the top priorities of the government hence an affordable, comfortable and air-conditioned CNG bus service had been launched in the provincial metropolis. He said a network of public transport would be spread in the entire province and provision of transport to people in Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Dera Ghazi Khan and other big cities will be ensured. He said the former government had plundered money in the name of improving public transport, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had honoured its promise of providing a cheap and comfortable bus service to the people. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of air-conditioned CNG urban bus service at Model Town on Tuesday. He expressed gratitude to the Chinese companies Foton and Busco for extending cooperation to the Punjab government.
Foton Vice President Xong Criss praised the CM for his commitment to the people. Busco general manager also addressed the occasion.
SCEPTICS: “This plan is not going to materialise since urban transport is not on the government’s priority list,” a source claimed.
Citizens welcomed the induction of new buses but suspected their future. They asked how CNG buses would run during days of CNG load shedding in the city. “I travel by buses on B-33 route every day and the buses are so old they breakdown during the journey. These new buses are great but I wonder how long they will last since the passengers are many and the buses are few,” Rabia Zafar, Punjab University student and resident of Township, said. Describing the buses on route B-09 in the same way, Mudassir Iqbal, a resident of Nishtar Colony, said “Punjab government should focus on solving the problems of the people to counter its political rivals like Imran Khan instead of making tall claims in rallies”.
The buses are here, finally!
