* Only 700 buses out of the target of 900 are plying 20 out of the 53 allotted routes
* PTA inviting private companies to launch buses.
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LAHORE: The existing public transport system that replaced commuter vans with buses on the verge of collapse because of financial loss said Urban Transport Bus Owners Association President Bashir Sial.
District Regional Transport Authority (DRTA) Secretary Munir Ahmed Joiya said, “We realise that the transport system of the city is in poor condition but the situation will be controlled soon.”The system of high occupancy public transport buses was introduced in response to a treaty with the United Nations (UN) to save citizens from environmental pollution caused by the outdated commuters vans.
Another reason for introducing private bus companies was the failure of the Punjab Road Transport Company, which cost the government Rs 2.5 billion a year in staff salaries and utility bills only, the official said.The official said that the Transport Department had tried launching 900 buses in the city replacing almost 7,000 commuter vans, but they could only introduce 700 of them, which caused problems for commuters.
According to the department, around 950,000 commuters travelled by buses every day. The existing transport system could carry only 50 percent of them, the official said.The department had also failed to introduce the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transport service in the city, said the official.The authorities concerned were considering allowing vans to start plying in the city again, the official said.
The official said that 53 routes were allotted to high occupancy buses and 37 routes to the vans, but of the total 53 routes, only 20 were being used, whereas vans could be seen on almost every route of the city, including those allotted to the buses. The Supreme Court (SC).had ordered that vans could not be stopped from plying the routes allotted to buses as the buses could not meet the seating requirements. A transport company owner said that in 1998, the chief minister had directed the Transport Department to encourage private bus companies by giving them incentives.
He said that the private sector, under an agreement, was asked to launch high occupancy buses bought on lease through banks. According to the agreement, the bus owners were asked to pay 30 percent of the total amount as down payment, he said, adding that the government also took the responsibility of paying the four percent interest on the amount. He added that the government had promised to provide subsidy to the transporters but it was done only once.
He said that there was a condition in the agreement that the companies would increase the fare according to the price of diesel.Unfulfilled promises: When the buses were launched, the diesel price was Rs 10 per litre and the minimum fare was Rs 3 and maximum the Rs 15, but as the diesel price increased to Rs 50, the minimum fare was increased to Rs 8 only and the maximum fare was Rs 17.
He also said that some of the companies had already closed down as they had gone bankrupt. Sial said that the Transport Department had promised to facilitate the transporters by providing parking space to the buses at the rate of Rs 10 per month but it was not fulfilled.PTA secretary: Provincial Transport Authority (PTA) Secretary Muhammad Iqbal said, “We are inviting the transporting companies through advertisement to launch more buses. This time we will give incentives to them but we are waiting for the chief minister to finalise the policy.”
He added that they would allow vans to ply only those routes which would not be available to buses.
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