Sindh permits intercity transport under SOPs

The Sindh government has permitted the intercity bus operation in the province under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). However, the interprovincial transport remains suspended.

The decision, according to the notification issued on Friday by the Sindh Transport and Mass Transit Department, has been taken to cater to the transportation needs with strict observance of the SOPs.

The SOPs include cleaning and disinfecting surfaces of buses, bus terminals, booking points and waiting areas, and also the installation of sanitisation gates on the entrance and exit points of the terminals.

The transporters are also required to ensure “hygienic environment in buses” at terminals’ starting and terminating points. They must observe social distancing during ticketing, boarding, travelling and alighting with a minimum three-foot distance. “Wearing masks and hand gloves is mandatory for all the passengers, drivers and conductors aboard,” reads the notification.

The transporters are also required to keep minimum baggage and ensure availability of masks and hand sanitisers in every bus. The body temperature of every passenger including, the driver and the conductor, must be checked before boarding. Anyone with cough or fever must not be allowed to board the bus.

“There should be a fifty per cent seating arrangement for the passengers with reasonable distance among them,” reads the statement. “Ventilation of air by opening windows has to be ensured. The rear door has to be used for boarding, while the front is to be used for alighting."

It continues: “Sneezing and coughing have to be into elbow or tissue papers. Location of parking bays of buses has to be marked by the intercity transporters. Crowd management has also to be ensured through the deployment of additional or necessary staff and also by marking positions at bus terminals. Availability of soaps, sanitisers in the public area, toilets and terminals has also to be ensured.”

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Terminal Yousuf Goth for the interprovincial transport will open when the interprovincial transport is allowed.