Pink makes it to the roads

Lahore Transport Company launched three all women ‘Pink Bus Service’ on Thursday to facilitate females using public transport. Member National Assembly Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and Advisor to Chief Minister Begum Zakiya Shahnawaz inaugurated the project at Club Chowk, The Mall Road. The bus service, initiated as a pilot project, includes one bus for each B-22, B-33 and B-1 routes and is likely to be expanded to other city routes as well if it proves to be viable. The bus service, as promised by Punjab CM, was to be started during second week of December.
It all began when Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif updated his Facebook status to “Although there are separate compartments for ladies in these buses, however, yesterday, while talking to the ladies in the bus who complained about overcrowding I have decided to start from next week ALL LADIES BUS SERVICE on a trial basis.”
However LTC could not materialise the announcement in said time and was able to bring the buses on road after a delay of one month. The ticket collectors on the buses are also females, while the driver would a man.
Female commuters welcomed the move and said the problem would be resolved completely once more busses are introduced on other routes also.
A large chunk of public transport users comprises of working women and female students while the number of busses in the provincial metropolis was too low to meet the needs, even only of the male population.
According to urban transport planners, at least 2,000 buses were required to cater the transportation needs of city’s population while currently the LTC operational fleet consists of 250 buses only.
Earlier in November last year, it had launched 56 new CNG/AC buses on three routes and more 55 were to join the fleet in a month but still those buses have not arrived.
Sara Durrani, a Punjab University student, welcomed the move and said that females especially students were facing utmost difficulties as there was less space for them in the buses where also men used to invade at rush hours. But she said that only a bus for route meant a rare possibility of catching the bus during her university hours. “It seems that LTC has launched the buses in a hurry to avoid the CM’s anger,” she said.
A lecturer at Government College University Umme Ammara said that pilot projects were made to assess the need and viability of projects and here in case of transport for women both factors were pre determined so launching only three buses was like mocking the issues of female commuters. She said no bus was started on her route No 9 despite the fact that there was a great rush in women compartments.
Rabia Zafar, a resident of Township who works in a bank in Barkat Market, appeared disappointed on only three buses and said she was hoping it to be a good service which would halve the transportation expenses spent every month in rickshaws. Spokesperson of Lahore Transport Company Amjad Bhatti said the purpose of starting three buses was to study the commuter’s response to it and check the financial viability of the project. He said a study was also underway to check the strength of females on each route of the city.
Talking to media, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif said that provision of modern and affordable transport facilities to the people was the government’s priority and if the pilot project proved to be successful, more buses would be introduced, adding that 550 more buses were on their way and would be a part of the fleet by March.
Hamza, replying to a question about availability of CNG for the new buses said, PML-N would continue to protest against the suspension of supply of CNG till the Pakistan People’s Party-led government does not dissolve.