Wednesday, February 17, 2010

PA Lambasts City’s Transport System

Indeed very important point raised in the assembly .............. what this government is doing ......... where are those 8000 CNG buses .......... very pity on the transport department of this country who just never been interested in thinking about this important public welfare work ....
Why not Mr. Shahbaz Sharif again talk to the Daewoo company and make it run the same as it started 10 years back Today this company is more like a hooligan who is just running 70 buses which are not at all catering to the no of commuters........... ironic ........
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Transport Department accused of taking bribes, issuing ‘fitness certificates’ to vehicles in poor conditionStaff Report LAHORE: The members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) strongly criticised the existing transport system during the Punjab Assembly (PA) session on Wednesday, terming it too “pathetic and insufficient” to cater to the needs of the one million citizens of the provincial metropolis.During the question and answer hour, it was learnt that the existing public transport system in Lahore was fulfilling “needs” as assessed by a survey conducted back in 1991. However, the Transport Department said a new survey would be conducted for “transport planning” for the next 30 years by April 2010.The system for evaluating the condition of commercial vehicles – public transport vans and buses in particular – was strongly criticised by MPAs who alleged that there was no “transparent” system of assessing the condition of those public transport vehicles that are “an environmental hazard”.Answering a question raised by Opposition MPA Samina Khawar Hayat about the number of public-transport commuters and the vehicles available to cater to their needs, Minister for Transport Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said there were a total of 42 public-transport routes, out of which, 670 buses are running on 28 routes reserved for buses, while the rest are for vans. Route permit violators: Responding to another question about route permit violators, the minister said 250 to 300 vehicles are fined every month, 25 to 30 vehicles have been impounded while the route permits of 30 to 40 vehicles have been cancelled. To a question raised by MPA Rana Muhammad Afzal, asking whether the department had any mechanism to assess the condition of the vehicles, Rehman tried to convince the House that the public transport vehicles were “well kept”. But PA Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan said the House “was not blind” to the pathetic condition of the public transport vehicles operating in the city. The PA speaker directed the minister to look into the matter and take prompt action. Replying to another question about buses running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the minister said 30 CNG buses were currently operating in Lahore on a “trial basis”, whereas the government was also taking steps to introduce buses that run on Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) due to the CNG shortage. Bribes: Meanwhile, Samina accused the Transport Department of taking bribes and issuing “fitness certificates” to vehicles that are in poor condition. MPAs strongly criticised public transport vehicles for being responsible for the rapidly increasing environmental pollution in the city. MPA Mian Naseer Ahmed alleged that buses, which are at least 35 years old, continue to operate on Ferozepur Road without any check.Environment-friendly rickshaws: However, the transport minister claimed that the government was taking steps to ban two-stroke rickshaws and has introduced four-stroke ones in efforts to reduce environmental pollution.

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