Brace up for hike in metro bus fares

Rawalpindi : The commuters travelling by Metro buses should brace up for a hike in fares in near future, as Punjab government is mulling over a plan to withdraw the subsidy it is providing to Metro Bus Authority.

‘The News’ learnt from reliable sources that the Punjab government is working on the plan to cover up the losses the government has incurred on metro buses each day.

After withdrawal of the subsidy, the fare of metro bus would rise by more than 100 per cent. Over the last four years since the bus service has been launched the fare is Rs20 per head. However, with the withdrawal of subsidy, the tariff is likely to touch Rs50 per head which is not only exorbitant but would go beyond the reach of common people.

The information provided by the sources was not denied at all by the officials of MBA while commenting over the issue.

Assistant Manager, MBA, Shaukat Ali while defending government position neither denied nor accepted it. He said the information is being aired on electronic and print media as we have no knowledge about the plan of the government. Talking in a reserved manner, Shaukat said that if subsidy is withdrawn by the government then there is possibility of a hike in tariff. However, he expressed his unawareness how much rise is going to be made with the withdrawal of subsidy to the MBA by the Punjab government. “All decisions are taken by the government and we just have to follow them,” he added.

Similarly, when asked about introducing bus service on other routes as well in different parts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Shaukat Ali, said that last year, a feasibility study was conducted to introduce bus service on 8 new routes to be connected with the main MBA route both in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The feasibility report was submitted to the then Punjab government of PML-N. The objective was to connect directly different parts of Rawalpindi with Islamabad which could even lessen traffic jams on Murree Road to a greater level.

As the feasibility had already been submitted, now it depends upon the new Punjab government to decide its fate, the official remarked. Moreover if routes are constructed then automatically increase in number of buses would also be witnessed to cope with the load of passengers in both cities.