The Metro Bus Service (MBS) project is in final stages and Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif will be given a special briefing on the project in first week of March, according to the Rawalpindi-Islamabad MBS Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee Chairman Hanif Abbasi.
He further stated that the project’s inauguration date would be given by the CM.
Hanif Abbasi said that the government was determined to start the bus service in the shortest possible time to provide modern travel facilities to the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Hanif Abbasi said that underground cabling work for power supply lines from Flashmans hotel Saddar to Sixth Road Chowk has been completed while Murree Road is being constructed. The contractors were trying hard to complete construction work on the project, including bus stations, in the shortest possible time.
He further said that the Metro Bus Authority (MBA) had started hiring staff, including drivers, conductors, and others, for the bus service. The concerned authorities have published advertisements in this regard, he said.
The MBS Project, which includes a signal-free interchange at Peshawar Morr, is being completed with the objective of providing an international standard mass transit system to the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. March 23, 2015, is the final date of completion for construction work being done on the Peshawar Morr Interchange, he said.
MBS would facilitate over 200,000 commuters travelling by public transport daily and the project would bring a revolution in the public transport sector, Abbasi added.
He said 64 air-conditioned buses would initially ply on the Rawalpindi-Islamabad route.
The Peshawar Morr Interchange is a separate component of the project as it will provide signal-free roads for Kashmir Highway users, and for this purpose, the federal government is spending Rs. 6.17 billion to get the job done. Four underpasses will provide free way to metro buses from Rawalpindi to Secretariat, he said.
Elevators, escalators, security cameras and other equipments are also being installed, he said.
He said the Metro Bus Authority would not only run the bus service but also handle other issues including security and providing ambulance service in case of an accident.
