Metro Bus to facilitate over 200,000 commuters daily, says Abbasi

Rawalpindi
The Metro Bus Service (MBS) will bring a revolution in the public transport sector of twin cities and facilitate over 200,000 commuters travelling by public transport daily, said Chairman Metro Bus Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee Hanif Abbasi on Sunday.
Talking to APP, he said 64 air-conditioned buses would initially ply on the Rawalpindi-Islamabad route.
The project, which also includes a signal-free interchange at Peshawar Morr, is being completed in record time with the objective of providing an international standard mass transit system to the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, he added.
He said the government had set March 23 deadline for completion of the Peshawar Morr Interchange.
The National Logistic Cell (NLC) had been given two more months for completion of Peshawar Morr Interchange and 9th Avenue, he said.
Peshawar Morr Interchange is a separate component of the project as it will provide signal-free roads for Kashmir Highway users, and for this purpose the federal government is spending Rs6.17 billion. Four underpasses will provide free way to Metro Bus from Rawalpindi to Secretariat, he said.
Hanif Abbasi said the government was determined to start the bus within the shortest possible timeframe to provide modern travelling facilities to the citizens of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He said that 24-kilometre long project was in final stages.
The contractors were trying hard to complete the construction work on the project and bus stations at the earliest, he added.
He said the Metro Bus Authority would install elevators, escalator, security camera monitors and other equipment at the command and control centre and bus stations, he said.
He said the Metro Bus Authority would not only run the bus service but also handle other issues, including security and providing ambulance service in case of an accident.
The CCTV cameras would be installed on the elevated road and main route of the bus service and monitored from the command and control centre, he added.
Hanif Abbasi said the work on Metro Bus Project, which was a gift of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for the reisidents of twin cities, had been delayed due to sit-ins in the federal capital. Moreover, harsh winter was also hampering the work.