Muslim Town Flyover Inaugurated: News about BRTS but nothing about LRMTS

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the Muslim Town flyover on Ferozepur Road on Sunday and announced a bonus of Rs2 million for the labourers who took part in construction work.

The flyover was opened to traffic on April 22, but the inauguration ceremony was postponed in view of the Bhoja Air crash in Islamabad.

Though two deadlines for the flyover’s completion – March 23 and April 18 – were missed, the chief minister said that the Rs2 billion project had been finished in a “record” 175 days. The Punjab government, he said, had created “a culture of completing large scale projects in record time and in a transparent manner”.

He said that some 427,000 vehicles a day would use the flyover. He regretted the inconvenience caused by the construction work, but added that the “temporary inconvenience has now become a permanent convenience”.

Sharif said that the project was a high quality construction of thesame level as the Kalma Chowk flyover. He said that a petrol station owned by a relative of his had been demolished in order to build the Kalma Chowk flyover.

He said that development projects could turn Pakistan’s current dark days into a bright future. He said that if elected to lead the federal government in the next general elections, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would resolve the energy crisis within three years.

The chief minister said that setting up a comfortable, affordable and efficient public transport system for the poor and the middle class was “the mission of my life”. He said the government was building an international standard Bus Rapid Transport System.

He said that the poor sat at bus stops for hours and watched the rich go past in their cars and dreamt of similarly convenient travel facilities. After the BRTS was completed, he said, the rich would watch the poor travel in comfortable air conditioned buses.

He said that work on “this important public welfare project” was continuing around the clock and tenders would soon be offered for the next phase of the BRTS. He said a 4-km elevated bus track would be built from Qurtaba Chowk to the Civil Secretariat as part of the project. He said that building the BRTS was a tenth of the cost of building an underground metro system and would be finished this year.

The chief minister thanked the traffic police for their work in diverting traffic during the construction of the flyover. He also praised Inspector General of Punjab Police Habeebur Rehman as an honest officer who would bridge the gap between the police and the public. Earlier, Communication and Works Secretary Azam Suleman gave a talk about various features of the Muslim Town flyover project. Ministers, assembly members, and senior officers of the National Logistics Cell, the National Engineering Services of Pakistan and the city government also attended the inauguration.

Rapid transit: ‘Buses will not start running until October’

“The dedicated lanes for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) will likely not be used until they have been extended up to Qurtaba Chowk,” said Metro Bus Service General Manager Uzair Shah on Friday. He said the earliest it will take until October.

Shah said a smart ticketing system would be introduced with the buses in the BRTS lane. A similar system might be installed in other city buses if the results of the pilot project are encouraging. On February 13, Shah had said that the lanes would start being used in May when they were built from Gajju Mata to Kalma Chowk. However, now they will not open till they have at least been built till Qurtaba Chowk.

Shah, speaking exclusively with The Express Tribune said starting the metro bus service as soon as the 10 kilometres of the BRTS lane (from Gajju Mata to Kalma Chowk) is completed would leave the travellers with a poor impression. He said if minutes after boarding the bus they are caught in regular traffic at Kalma Chowk, they would be exasperated. He also said the BRTS could not work without bus terminals.

Shah said that the number of articulated buses to be run had been increased from seven to 16. These buses, he said, were not cost efficient, however, they were more comfortable. He said the BRTS buses would only run in the BRTS corridor. He said around 40 buses would be used initially.

Shah said a smart card system would be introduced in collaboration with the Punjab Information and Technology Board. He said two fare tariffs were being considered. One option was a flat fare of Rs20 to Rs30 for travel to any destination on the BRTS route. The second option was Oyester Cards. Once a traveller paid for three rides on the card, the rest of his travel on the BRTS for that day would be free. He said the cards would be swiped at the entrance of the BRTS bus terminal and then a second time on the bus.

He said if the smart card system was a success, it might be extended to other buses in the city. He said that a centralised payment mechanism would also be established at IT Tower as all payments would be collected by the government electronically and later distributed among transporters. He said all transporters would be taken into confidence regarding the mechanism.

Most transporters however rejected the idea. First Bus Chief Operating Officer Muhammad Dastgir Baloch asked why they should allow the government to collect the revenue.

He said the idea was not practical as the government would have to increase subsidies to the transporters. He said that even with a subsidy they would likely not accept the proposal.

Rapid transit: TEPA Proposes Extension in Elevated Route

LAHORE: Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) officials have reworked a proposal to build an elevated bus-only track for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), suggesting that it run all the way from Qurtaba Chowk to Data Darbar.

TEPA had initially proposed that a 2.5-kilometre elevated track be built from Qurtaba Chowk to MAO College, for two reasons: first, the area is congested and building a bus-only track for the BRTS down the middle of the road, with regular crossings built for pedestrians, would choke other traffic; and second, it would obviate the need for expensive land acquisitions. The Planning and Development Department approved the proposal earlier this week.

Now TEPA officials are suggesting that the track be extended another 1.3 kilometres to Data Darbar, for the same reasons: to ensure the flow of traffic of other vehicles is maintained, and to avoid the need to buy land.

“A proposal has been made to the Planning and Developing Department to extend the elevated bus lane,” said Mazhar Hussain, the project director for the BRTS and TEPA’s director for construction. Asked if he expected the proposal to be accepted, he said he could not say either way.

He said that once it was decided, work on the bridge and on another section of the BRTS from Kalma Chowk to Qurtaba Chowk would begin simultaneously in mid-May.

TEPA Assistant Director Ansar Butt said that if the new proposal were rejected, most of Gamay Shah Road would be taken up by the BRTS lane. He said that other traffic going to or leaving Data Darbar would have to use a longer route. He said that if the elevated lane were built all the way to Data Darbar, the traffic flow on the Lower Mall and Gamay Shah Road would not be disturbed.

Lahore Transport Company General Manager Uzair Shah said that he hoped the proposal would be accepted. He said that if the bridge were to end at MAO College, it would mean needing to build crossings for bus passengers every few hundred metres which would choke the traffic flow on the road. “In engineering bridges are considered the last resort. In this case there is no other solution,” he said.

He said that in case their proposal was turned down, they would have to take four metres from Nasser Bagh and cut down some very old trees besides taking land from the DCO’s office. “There would no longer be parking space outside the Secretariat either,” he said.

Work on next phase of bus track from next month

Workers will complete the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on Ferozepur Road in May and start work on the next stage soon after, including a 2.5-kilometre bus-only bridge over Qurtaba Chowk.

Officials of the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) toldThe Express Tribune that the first phase of the project, for the laying of a special bus track from Kahna to Kalma Chowk (around 10km), would be finished next month.

Once that is complete, workers will start preparing the BRTS track from Kalma Chowk to Qurtaba Chowk, a distance of around 4.2 kilometres, they said. They will simultaneously start building a 2.5-km flyover from Qurtaba Chowk to MAO College, said the TEPA officials. The works would be completed in October, they said.

The TEPA officials said that the PC-1 (project digest) for the elevated track had been submitted to the Planning and Development Department and they expected approval to be granted soon. They said that building an elevated track would obviate the need to buy costly land for the project.

Mazhar Hussain, the BRT project director and director for engineering construction at TEPA, said that work on both sections would begin simultaneously to save time. He said that the laying of track between Kalma Chowk and Qurtaba Chowk would take about three months, while building the elevated track would take around six months.

“At the present pace of work, we should be able to complete the first phase by mid-May,” he said. “The next phase will begin soon after.”

Hussain said that it was necessary to build an elevated track for the BRTS between Qurtaba Chowk and MAO College because the stretch was too congested and there was not enough space in this section for a dedicated bus-only lane down the middle of Ferozepur Road. “The BRTS flyover strip will also reduce the mess on the adjoining roads,” he said.

TEPA Assistant Director Ansar Butt said that 10 bus stops had been built along the stretch of BRTS track between Kahna and Kalma Chowk. Four more bus stops each are to be built along the second and third sections of the BRTS. The four bus stops on the elevated track would be at Qurtaba Chowk, Mozang Adda, Janazgah and at the Hailey College of Banking and Finance at the Punjab University’s Old Campus. He said that a total of 31 bus stops were to be installed for the whole project. He said the bus stops would be connected to the track via overhead bridges.

TEPA sources said that workers had also laid ducts along the BRTS track between Kahna and Kalma Chowk for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) project, which envisages the installation of high-tech cameras and sensors along the route for traffic management and monitoring. The ITS and BRTS projects are meant to be synergistic, since the cameras and sensors are supposed to ensure that the buses always get a green light. However, no funds have yet been released for the ITS.

The sources said that the ducts had been laid for wiring for the ITS system, so that workers would not have to dig up the track again 

Ferozepur Road Bus Rapid Transit project

Ferozepur Road Bus Rapid Transit project

Bus Rapid Transit Project: Update

The Metro Bus Service Project will be a paramount contribution to the uplift of living standards of the masses, said Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, adding that it would bring a revolutionary change in the transport sector of the city.

He said that the launch of this bus service would result in availability of speedy and comfortable transport facility of international standards to the passengers.

He directed that keeping in view the project’s utility, the related construction work should be undertaken round the clock so that the project could be completed at the earliest.

He was addressing a meeting held to review the pace of implementation of the Metro Bus Service Project on Wednesday.

 

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System Chairman Mehr Ishtiaq Ahmed, Punjab Assembly members Malik Saiful Malook, Ramzan Siddique Bhatti, Dr Saeed Elahi, Hafiz Mian Nauman, Mian Mohsin Latif, Kh Imran Nazir, Dr Asad Ashraf, Planning & Development chairman, Lahore commissioner and district coordination officer, LDA director general, chief traffic officer and other officers concerned attended the meeting. 

The CM said that the 32-kilometre-long lane of the Metro Bus Service, from Kahna to Shahadra, would be built in accordance with international standards and best traffic engineering techniques. 

He ordered all the departments concerned to work in a coordinated manner for timely completion of the project. 

He said that the BRT system was a gift to Lahoris from the Punjab government, adding that the project was being implemented in collaboration with the brotherly state of Turkey and together they planned on giving a complete new look and identity to the city.

He said that in addition to laying of track from Kahna to Kalma Chowk, planning should also be initiated for construction of a track from Shahdara to Kalma Chowk so that the project could be completed as early as possible for the benefit of the people. He said that development work on the BRT project should be continued without interruption. 

Shahbaz said that parking plazas would be constructed at suitable places on Ferozepur Road in order to provide safe parking facility to traders as well as the general public. 

Explaining in detail the metro project, he said it was an intelligent transport project that had been designed keeping in view the increasing traffic load and future requirements of the city. He said the project was aimed at maintaining a smooth traffic flow across the metropolis as per the directions of traffic experts who would be using information and communication technology for the purpose.

He said that transparency, high standard and speedy completion of development projects was hallmark of the Punjab government and all public welfare projects during the last four years had been executed in a transparent manner, bringing benefits for the common man. 

He said that the metro project would also be unique with regard to its standard and transparency. 

The assembly members present during the meeting hailed the CM for launching Metro Bus Service as well as other public welfare projects. They said that the project would result in availability of modern transport facility to the citizens and the CM deserved all credit for the glorious project. Planning and Development Chairman Javed Aslam informed that a separate authority would be set up for operating the BRT system and a legislation would also be undertaken for this purpose. staff report

Transfer of authority: Lahore Transport Company to take over parking duties

The Lahore Transport Company is to take responsibility for parking in the city from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the city government and will seek to set up a system that pays for itself.

The city government has forwarded a summary for the transfer of authority to the Punjab Transport Authority, which will forward it after approval to the chief secretary, who in turn will send it to the chief minister.

Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan, the LTC chairman, said the process of approval would take about three weeks. Meanwhile, he said, Turkish company ISPARK is developing a parking model for the city. The LTC aims to set up a parking system that generates enough revenue to run itself. “We don’t want to ask the Punjab government for money to run the system,” he said.

Lahore faces major traffic issues due to the absence of parking areas, lack of public transport and a rising number of vehicles. Hassaan said the city’s parking issues could not be resolved without a quality public transport system. “Now the LTC will hold both responsibilities,” he said. The LTC is importing buses to ply the city’s public transport routes.

Hassaan said that the parking issues in commercial areas could not be resolved without the construction of parking plazas, but he couldn’t say when they would be built.

“These will definitely be part of our long-term plans,” he said. “It is not clear yet what will be in the final summary.”

He said that commuters would be able to get a chargeable card from which the parking meters would automatically deduct fees according to the amount of time the facility is used. Cameras would be installed at parking lots for monitoring, to reduce the risk of car theft and give commuters a sense that their car is parked in a safe area, he added.

Hassaan said that the cost of the new parking model and parking fees had not been decided.

“One thing is for sure: we will earn at least 10 times more than what the CDGL and the LDA are getting through these parking stands,” he said.

The parking fee will be high to discourage commuters from parking their cars at the side of the road, but the fee in parking plazas and stands would be low and charged on an hourly basis, he said.

He said that the LTC would use staff from the public facilities department and hire a general manager and staff to serve at parking lots.