TO GO WITH Pakistan-unrest-vote-politics-development-education,FOCUS by Khurram Shahzad
In this photograph taken on June 5, 2013, shows Pakistani employees walking beside metro buses parked at a terminal in the provincial capital Lahore. Pakistanis are hoping their new prime minister will roll out high-profile projects that became his party's trademark in its political heartland of Punjab, but the nation's dire finances threaten the optimism. The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) won huge popularity and a reputation for getting things done with a series of big-ticket schemes over the past five years in Punjab, the country's richest, most populous province. A metro bus system in the provincial capital Lahore -- the first such scheme in the country's 65-year history -- free laptops and solar energy panels for students and a network of high-quality schools in poor rural areas made Punjab the envy of Pakistan. AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALI
LAHORE: The transport department on Sunday proposed a Rs10 hike on fares of the metro bus service operating in the province.
Sources in the transport department said that “passengers will be charged Rs20 for the first 10 kilometres but a Rs10 hike has been proposed for the fare beyond 10kms”.
The proposal comes in light of the government’s decision to decrease the subsidy granted on metro bus fares, sources said.
“It has also been decided that the card system for Speedo bus service should be ended. Passengers will be able to travel on the Speedo bus by sampling paying fares,” the sources added.
Earlier, cards had been launched for the Speedo bus service and passengers were not allowed to travel without their cards.
