BAHAWALPUR: The Speedo bus service operating between Bahawalpur and Lodhran, launched last year by the PML-N’s provincial government has been suspended for an indefinite period.

The bus service was launched by ex-chief minister Shahbaz Sharif in 2017, particularly to facilitate the students from Lodhran who studied in various educational institutions of Bahawalpur.

The bus service charged subsidised Rs20 one-way fare from the students and other commuters for traveling from Lodhran to the Baghdad-ul-Jadid campus of the Islamia University (IUB) on Hasilpur Road. Those traveling to Bahawalpur from the villages on the route would also benefit from the service.

Dawn has learnt that the bus service has been stopped because of non-payment of arrears to the tune of millions to Daewoo bus service by the Punjab government.

Regional Transport Authority district secretary Dr Muhammad Saifullah confirmed the closure of the bus service. He, however, said the provincial government had been approached for resolution of the issue.

According to him, the agreement between the Punjab government and Daewoo Company for running the bus service had expired in July, 2018 and the work for its renewal was under process.

Regarding the non-payment of arrears to the Daewoo Company, he said the matter was being taken up with the government. However, he declined to reveal the arrears amount. He hoped that the the bus service would be resumed soon.

The former chief minister had introduced the bus service to pacify the local population that had been demanding traveling facilities like those provided to the people in Lahore and other big cities.

In order to run the service, a number of bus stops costing millions of rupees had been built along the 30-km long route of the service by the Bahawalpur Development Authority (BDA), engaging contractors from Lahore.

The closure of bus service will particularly hit hundreds of male and female students who had been using it to reach their educational institutes.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2018