RAWALPINDI, April 12: Commuters had to face severe problems due to shortage of buses after a private transport company on Monday got exclusive operational rights to seven city routes.

The passengers continued to suffer in scorching heat all day long, waiting to board a bus to reach their destination. The rush was at its peak during office-opening and closing times.

All the company vehicles were overloaded. The regular commuters had to hire taxis to reach homes. Those who could not afford cabs had to walk to their destinations. The biggest problem, the commuters fear they will have to encounter, is the shortage of buses.

"I want to get a bus the time I reach the bus stop, which at least seems impossible now as the company is already short of buses," Mr Anwar, a government employee, said. The company has a fleet of 150 buses through which it plans to manage the load on all the seven routes.

However, the company's inability to cope with the load was clearly reflected from the rush at the bus stops. A senior district administration official warned that if the company failed to manage the load as agreed with the administration, the issue would be referred to the government for appropriate action.

The transport company chairperson, Uzma Gul, when asked for comments, claimed that the local administration and the Regional Transport Authority secretary did not inform her properly about the decision regarding the franchize routes.

She said she was only verbally informed about the decision and had not been sent any notification. Since it was the first day, so there were some problems for the commuters, but things will streamline from Tuesday, she said.

It is to recall that the chairperson on Monday claimed she had made all arrangements to operate its service. The district Nazim, Raja Tariq Kiani, when contacted, said the transport company chairperson had been properly informed about the decision.

"We have made all the security arrangements and deputed police at different points along the road to avoid any damage to the company vehicles," he said. Answering a question about the shortage of buses, he said Ms Gul had informed them that she had the required number of vehicles. And only after the assurance, a go-ahead was given to franchize some routes, he added.

On the other hand, the public transport vehicle owners rejected the franchize agreement. They called the decision unjust and said they would continue their protest and approach the government high-ups to intervene. They said the routes offered to them were not acceptable.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn, some commuters were of the opinion that the major victim of the decision would be the elderly and special persons as they faced great difficulty in getting seats.

Though the company boasts of having reserved two seats for the handicapped, special persons are often standing, they said. The road safety record of the drivers of these buses is also very poor, they claimed.