Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus project is operating without a Command and Control Center, despite a lapse of over two-year – a state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre was supposed to be part of the project in order to efficiently run the Metro Bus system.
Despite carrying a price tag of Rs 50 billion, sources said an effective Command and Control system had not been established for the project. Instead, a temporary monitoring system has been put in place at the Metro Bus station at Kashmir Highway.
Construction work on the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus was started on February 28, 2014 with a cost of approximately Rs 44.31 billion including the Rs 5 billion cost of Peshawar Morr interchange, which was supposed to be completed within one year.
However, the project was delayed mainly due to a lack of planning, which not only escalated the cost of the project, it also invoked strong public criticism, because the routine business was brought virtually to a standstill due to construction work on the project.
So, in order to avoid the criticism and to woo the voters ahead of the local government polls, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to inaugurate the incomplete project on June 4, 2015.
Sources said the government is taking credit for the completion of project in record time; however, the situation on the ground speaks otherwise, as a lot of the work is yet to be done.
Sources said that the temporary monitoring system for the Metro Bus system did not have an effective mechanism to save the data due to which several complaints remained unaddressed.
Additionally, while the metro bus service has been launched, issues pertaining to drainage of rainwater still remain, resulting in the inundation of the underground bus stations during monsoon rains, besides the seeping water from the ceiling.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Zahoor Shah, an official of Punjab Metro Bus Authority (PMBA) confirmed that a temporary monitoring system has been set up at Metro Bus Station on Kashmir Highway, where, he said, everything is being closely monitored.
However, he said the setup did not have a data storage solution, therefore, a separate system had been created for it at an undisclosed location.
The official said that the Metro Bus will have the state-of-the-art Command and Control Center set up in Sadar Rawalpindi within 10 days.
He said that a team of engineers from foreign countries will arrive in Pakistan within the next four to five days, who will make operational the system, because the local engineers could not install the equipment, which he said had already been imported.
Metro Bus project in-charge Hanif Abbasi could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.
Official spokesman for Metro Bus Service project and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Hafiz Irfan also did not respond to the queries.
The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a 22.5 km bus rapid transit system that serves the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The route has 24 stations and it has the capacity to carry 150,000 people daily.
The system uses e-ticketing and Intelligent Transportation System wand. The system is managed by the Punjab Metro Bus Authority (PMBA) with the IT part being handled in coordination with Punjab IT Board.
