Frenzied stopping of public transport irk Pindiites

Pindiites claim that all public transport vehicles stop to pick up and drop off passengers at places of their own choice, thus putting the passengers at risk. But the public transport drivers say that there are certain situations under which we cannot stop at a designated public-transport-stop. By and large, this is when the vehicle is jam-packed.

“Catching a public transport is too challenging a task. Nowhere it is specified where the public transport should stop, for this reason they stop everywhere. We have to run after them amidst heavy traffic, risking our lives. Civic authority and traffic police appear to be least concerned and have no time to solve our problems,” says Nusrat Zaidi from Murree Road.

 “I have often seen that in this way passengers in several areas of the city for example; Chungi No. 22, Saddar, Jhandaha Cheechy, Rahimabad, Gulzar-e-Quaid, Shah Khalid Colony, Fauji Tower, PAF, Sultanpura, Chandni Chowk, National Market, Kali Tanki, Haidery Chowk, College Chowk, Siddique Chowk, National Bank and Pindora Chungi, are put to severe hardship,” adds Nusrat.

Ejaz Hasan from Saddar says jokingly: “If you have missed your morning fitness exercise and you reside in Pindi, don't sweat. Just try to get into any public transport, be it a bus, a wagon, a flying coach or a Suzuki van, at any Pindi bus stop during rush hours. You will do enough jogging and sweating to last the entire day.”

“At some public-transport-stops like Highway-stop near Sawan, public transport drivers hardly ever care about the travelers' safety and arrive haphazardly and drive away after standing there for quite a time bumper-to-bumper, weaving their way out of the passengers stationed there, looking for the wagon of their intended route,” says Faraz Jafary from Faizabad.

“Joke aside, women and aged persons are more prone to getting hurt while boarding or stepping down from public transport. At many points of the city there is no designated place or a public transport bay even like muddy one of Khanna Pul for the vehicles to stop therefore, all public transport vehicles come to a halt at the roads. This causes traffic snarls, especially during morning and evening peak hours,” adds Faraz.

“Passengers living on Shahrah-e-Faisal Avenue (Airport Link Road) have to stand at the edge of the signal-free road to get Islamabad-bound transport. The Airport Link Road public-transport stops are of little use as a very small number of vehicles ply from these points despite the great demand for public transport,” says Hasan Abbas from Tajabad locality.

“One day when I was halfway down from the public transport the vehicle sped away. Resultantly I slipped and got hurt.  I started to panicking and shouting around. Suddenly someone made the vehicle stop and ran down from it to help me. Then the passengers admonished the vehicle driver,” recounts Azeem Hussain living near Rahimabad.

“Things can improve when passengers will wait for the bus at the bus stop and not before/after the bus stop. When they won't rush towards the bus in order to get seat and board it while it is running,” says Sibte Hasan, a wagon driver.

“When they will stop waving to the public transport to pick them up from anywhere on a road or tell driver to stop at any random place of their convenience to de-board. We will start stopping at the stop when the passengers start stopping anywhere else for the bus,” says Salamat Ali, another driver of a public transport.