A person experiences much changes when moving from Lahore to Islamabad. One of the major issues faced is the lack of good transportation. The most available means of transportation are wagons and taxis. Wagons are not comfortable and there is no fixed time of arrival and departure which causes many problems. Further more the conductors and drivers are not literate and well mannered. The second option is taxi which is, first and foremost, very expensive. Secondly, travelling alone in a taxi is a huge risk for a girl. Thirdly, taxis here are not comfortable and air conditioned. There is an option of Metro Cab but this service is way too expensive. Although in this case the comfort and security levels are very high. Recently, the Metro Bus Project has started here in the twin cities: Rawalpindi-Islamabad. Let's hope that this will ease some of the problems and will also reduce the traffic from the main roads. Still, there should be buses with proper routes like in Lahore.
In Lahore, public transport is all time available, in every form i.e buses, wagons, ching chi, rikshaws with suitable fares. Lahore Transport Company provides A.C buses, with trained staff, proper routes and fixed timings. The routes of buses all over Lahore can be checked from LTC website. During the route the driver has to check in at least twice so that the buses are on time. Also, ticket checker appears at least twice during the route. There are special student tickets and thanks to government of Punjab the LTC green card is very helpful. It only costs Rs 10 for one sided travel no matter how far is the destination . Moreover there are plenty of rikshaws for individual customer and also on "sawari" basis. Last but not the least the Metro Bus project has eased the lives of lahoris. Not only people are travelling from Gajumata to Shahdara in less time and low cost, it has also reduced the burden from Ferozpur Road which in returns makes easy for those people having their own conveyance. This project has reduced the traffic load from Ferozpur Road and is very helpful for daily travelers.
Yes you are right most of the time their is always an issue of transportation at Islamabad, mainly at night. I think this is because of poor transportation facility from Government side, although its the Capital of Pakistan. But i hope the Metro Bus service will lessen some burden.
ReplyDeleteIn case of Lahore, transportation is good, available all the time but this is due to dense population, so ultimately requirements would be very high, and more focus from Government side also.
Yes Government needs to focus first on the needs of the capital city.
DeleteYes you are right, but there are alot of better options available in Islamabad nowadays. Taxi booking apps are getting popular in the capital. Next time when you visit Islamabad hire Wahyd, a cab hailing service.
ReplyDelete