Quetta awaits green bus service

Private transporters blamed for sustained delay

During the regime of former chief minister Jam Kamal, plans were made to start green bus service on various routes of Quetta.

Buses were also purchased but these public transport vehicles have not been operated yet.

Reportedly, these buses were currently parked in the office of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

For the same project, buses were also purchased by the incumbent government. However, these buses have not yet been operated and the reason is being attributed to the pressure of private transporters.

A picture went viral on social media platforms recently in which the post mentioned the Balochistan government had bought ‘modern and comfortable’ buses to provide better transport facilities to the people.

“Unfortunately, these buses are not running on the streets due to the pressure of the private transporters,” Ahmed Wali, a resident of Quetta stated.

After these pictures went viral, the provincial government also had to respond. The spokesperson for the provincial government, Farah Azeem Shah told Bol News that the green bus service was a project of the previous government. “All transactions, tendering and procurement were done during the previous government’s tenure.”

She also said that no plans were made despite political point-scor¬ing while rushing bus routes and other matters. “No comprehensive policy was formulated as to how the buses would be operated in the city and who would operate the buses.”

Shah said these buses were brought to Quetta on June 29 last year. “The current government was practically working on the feasibility study to run the buses. And very soon, the people would be able to benefit from this project.”

She also said, “We are not convinced to impose any project on the public for political scoring. However, after completing all the preparations and work, these buses will run for the public so that the people can benefit from them.”

These buses had reached Quetta in June. In this regard, a summary of the workable plan had been sent by the Balochistan Transport Department secretary, in which a decision was to be taken on the proposals included.

On the other hand, the former provincial chief executive also commented, “This project was started in 2020 and was to be started in Quetta in the first phase. The plan was to take it to the major cities of the province so that people living there can get better transport facilities.”

The former CM further said, “The idea was to run them initially on the newly-constructed roads of Nawan Killi, Hanna, Sabzal Road, Joint Road, Qambrani Road, Shahwani Road and then on the Quetta Bypass. For this, regular buses were available with stops and waiting facilities were also to be provided.”

At the same time, he complained, “One project after another is being neglected or has been shelved.”

Reportedly, these buses are currently parked in the office of the PDMA. A resident named Hanan Ali believes that due to the pressure from local bus unions, the new buses have been parked in Quetta.

In a meeting held on January 15, 2021, regarding this project, the former chief minister Jam Kamal said that the green bus project is especially important to modernise travel facilities and serve the citizens.

He added that in the first phase, two buses would be allocated for women while a total of eight buses will ply in the city under the green bus plan.

The transport secretary stated that two routes had been selected for the green bus.

The first route will be from Serena Chowk to Baleli check post while a total of 11 bus stops will be constructed along the route.