RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has failed to start a shuttle service on 14 routes to the metro bus stations in the city even after two years.

The government had announced to launch the shuttle service in 2014 to pick passengers from the Pirwadhai and Soan general bus stands, railway station, airport and other areas to the metro bus route.

A senior official of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) told Dawn that there was no space available with the district administration to establish a bus depot and private transporters were not interested in launching the shuttle service.

According to the plan, he added, the government would procure 75 buses to support the metro bus service by ferrying passengers from different areas to the stations.

He said these buses would charge Rs25 per passenger, including the fare for the metro bus service.

He said private transporters had been approached by the government to launch the shuttle service but they refused saying private transport such as wagons would be enough.

When contacted, Raja Riaz of the Twin Cities Private Public Transport Association said instead of launching a shuttle service the government should allocate routes to private transporters.

“We have not been provided a level-playing field after the launch of the metro bus service. Private transporters have been barred from operating on Murree Road.”

He said had a level-playing field been provided to transporters, the citizens would not have faced hardship due to the frequent suspension of the metro bus service.

However, Metro Bus Authority General Manager (Operation) Uzair Shah told Dawn that the shuttle service would be launched soon.

He said over 75 buses would be plying on different routes to support the metro bus service.

He said the metro bus service was operating in Rawalpindi and Islamabad successfully and the shuttle service would help increase the number of its passengers.

He said the government was consulting stakeholders and would soon procure the buses.

The establishment of a bus depot for the shuttle service is not a major issue to launch the service, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2017