Metro Bus Service – The First Day

First dayFirst day of Metro bus Service in Lahore was marked with mixed emotions of joy and anger. People were seen rallying at stations to get a feel of the costly new bus service started by Punjab Government. The bus service will run free of charge for first four weeks and this concession pulled people from their houses to the bus stations in strength. On the other hand overcrowding of buses caused scuffles and un-avoidable delays, daily commuters were left waiting at the stations for hours waiting for the bus to fit in. Many people enjoyed several trips of the entire 27 Km route as a joyride. The management also failed to run complete squad of buses on the first day as some of the vehicles were undergoing minor repairs at workshop. The claim of running the service every three minutes was found lacking as 15-20 minutes delay was observed between consecutive buses at all stations. Moreover, due to over-crowding of the buses, these could not stop at many bus stands as only a few would go out while dozens tried to board the bus. Women passengers were also facing many difficulties during the travel as there are no separate compartments for women in these buses and several acts of harassment were reported to the Metro bus Authorities. Daily commuters blamed the authorities for their decision of shifting all other public transport buses away from Metro Bus route. Due to lack of other public transport along this route, the routine users of were left waiting at the stations for hours. This is also promoted occasion scuffle between the management and commuters. Many persons were of the view that the fare for Bus service should not have been excused as many travelers were just enjoying fee rides.