RAWALPINDI: Punjab Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Bilal Akbar Khan on Friday said the government would increase the number of buses for the metro bus service between Rawalpindi and Islamabad. “Approximately, 150,000 people travel in the metro buses between Rawalpindi and Islamabad on a daily basis and currently 68 buses are in the fleet. A review is being carried out to increase the number of buses on the route. The metro bus track will also be repaired,” the minister said during a visit to different metro stations.

Secretary Transport Punjab Ahmed Javed Qazi, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema and Rawalpindi Development Authority Director General Kinza Murtaza accompanied the minister, who inspected the track by traveling in a metro bus. The minister also inquired about the travel facilities from the passengers.

He said according to the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, all possible measures were being taken to provide travel facilities to the citizens.

He said the purpose of his visit was to solve problems faced by commuters.

Integrated Urban Transport Plan

Meanwhile, the minister reviewed the Integrated Urban Transport Plan for Rawalpindi city at a meeting held at the commissioner office.

“Our aim is to provide comfortable travel facilities to the people while ensuring decongestion in the city,” he told the participants. He said there were instructions from the chief minister to implement the decongestion plan in all major cities, including Rawalpindi, on an emergency basis.

In this regard, he said, 78 eco-friendly air-conditioned buses had initially been approved for Rawalpindi. In phase one, six feeder routes have been proposed which will provide access to the metro bus stations at Saddar, Marrir, Liaquat Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Sixth Road and Faizabad.

“This scheme is in the approval phase which will be included in the upcoming annual development plan. Using these feeder routes will enhance the utility of the metro bus service,” he said.

The district administration directed the secretary Regional Transport Authority to take stakeholders on board to allocate the routes for these buses.

Briefing the participants about the proposed feeder buses, the meeting was told that in the first route 12 buses will be allocated for the nine-km-long route from Soan River to Rawalpindi Railway Station via G.T Road. Similarly, the second route will be 12-km-long from Islamabad Expressway to the railway station via Airport Road, Chaklala, Dhoke Kashmirian, Rahmanabad, Jinnah Park, Kutchery, Punjab House, Marrir Chowk to the railway station on which 16 buses will be operated.

For third route, 12 buses will be allocated and the seven-km-long route will be from Dhoke Kashmirian to Railway Workshop via Tipu Road. The fourth route will be from Dhoke Kashmirian to TB Hospital via Rawal Road while 11 buses will be allocated for the eight-km-long route from Pirwadhai Mor to Marrir Chowk via GT Road. The sixth route is supposed to be nine km long from Faizabad Interchange to the IJP Road, Sixth Road, Rahmanabad stop, Sadiqabad Chowk, Khanna Road and Khanna Bridge for which 15 buses have been proposed.

The minister directed that the feeder routes should be finalised after consultation with all stakeholders and in the light of the updated data obtained from Nespak.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2024