After the lapse of almost five decades of its development, the federal capital has not launched its own public transport system, creating immense problems for commuters, and there seems to be no immediate end in sight to their miseries.
On certain occasions, city managers announced to start their own public transport system but those announcements have not been materialized so far.
Former Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairmen Imtiaz Inayat Elahi announced to start CNG bus rapid system but even after several years, this pledge has not been fulfilled and masses are facing difficulties.
Thousands of people travel between the twin cities and face immense problems to reach their destinations.
Like other segments, a large number of students also face difficulties to reach their institutions besides maltreatment by the drivers and conductors.
After the three-day CNG load shedding, need for a proper public system has increased as a small number of vehicles ply on roads during these days. Private transporters keep their vehicles off the road owing to unavailability of CNG while cab drivers take extra charges.
In this situation, women commuting by public transport continue to face a tough time as the public transport is a nightmare for them.
“I work at a call centre in Islamabad and every day, I have to change two vans in order to reach my office. Mostly, I have to wait for a long time to get a seat in the van,” said Huma Shahid, a resident of the Raja Bazaar. She said that buses were more suitable for female commuters but currently, no bus service was plying between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, adding that it was the need of the hour to launch a proper transport facility for the public, in general, and female commuters, in particular, so that they may travel with dignity.
