Flawed public transportation

Residents of Quetta face significant challenges as a result of a lack of local bus stops

Quetta: Passengers on local buses are always at high risk, and to make matters worse, there are no bus stops in the provincial capital Quetta for its residents. People are seen waiting for the bus on the roadside in most parts of the city.

Shuamaila Jameel has been taking a local bus from Sabzal Road to Jinnah Road for the past three years. According to her, there is no bus stop close to her house or in a respectable neighbourhood.

”I have no choice but to wait for the bus on the side of the road, where I feel quite unsafe,” Shumaila explained. Every day, many people, including some women, come here to wait for a bus, just like her.

On the one hand, the buses are in such disrepair that it is difficult to breathe while riding in them; one becomes claustrophobic. However, even before boarding the local bus, the situation worsens due to exhaustion.

”The administration should build bus stops throughout the city, particularly for women, so that we can travel safely,” she added.

The local bus service in Balochistan, including Quetta, is in disarray because the vehicles are in poor condition. Even today, old and dilapidated buses can be seen running in Quetta, polluting the air and leaving massive carbon footprints.

Momina Shah, a resident of Qambrani Road, shared her experience as a private teacher who used to travel by local bus. She expressed her discomfort because the condition of these buses is very poor and the proportion of female passengers is quite small, and she further asked that her request be shared with the concerned department in order to examine these buses and take legal action against their owners, who had not installed proper seats and accessories in the buses, and because the staff’s behaviour is quite unprofessional.

She also stated that bus stops are extremely important and necessary for the travelling public, and the government should construct various points in various areas to make their daily commute more convenient.

Balochistan, as a victim of climate change, is in a vulnerable and critical position; therefore, owners of such vehicles should be directed to update them or replace them with those that are not hazardous to the environment on a priority basis.

Because of the recent climate disaster in Balochistan, the administration should be more cautious and concerned. There is no room for such vehicles on the road that emit dangerous carbon and pollute the environment. Such outdated vehicles not only make it difficult to travel safely but also make breathing in polluted air difficult. Before it is too late, the local administration, in collaboration with the provincial government, must impose stringent regulations on carbon-emitting vehicles.

Despite the government’s announcement of a green bus service years ago and the subsequent import of buses, people in Quetta remain without basic transportation services. Nothing has been done on the government’s end to help the locals.

Munner Ahmad, a Saryab resident, told Bol News that even middle-class people who own two or four wheels cannot afford the high gas and fuel prices, so they rely on public transportation.

He went on to say that because Quetta is the capital and home to the majority of the workforce, the government’s priority should be subsidising the local transportation system, which would benefit middle- and lower-income people.

There are model examples of local transportation in other urban cities in Pakistan, particularly provincial capitals, such as the red buses in Lahore and the recently launched people’s bus service in Karachi. These bus services are mostly found in poorer neighbourhoods and charge reduced fares, making them accessible to low-income residents.

Shabbir Khan, a student, stated, ”The people of Balochistan are constantly fed tall claims and promises; they claimed that the CPEC would benefit Balochistan, but this is not the case. The Orange Line Train was given to Lahore under the auspices of CPEC, but all Balochistan got was suffering.”

People are migrating to Quetta Valley from other parts of Balochistan and southern Punjab in search of job opportunities in the growing urban center. People are facing harsh challenges as their day-to-day travel becomes more expensive due to a rising population and a non-functional local transportation system. They cannot afford to travel by rickshaws or taxis, so local buses are their only viable option.

These very dilapidated buses make travel difficult because there is always the risk of an accident because such vehicles are not resilient enough.

According to the district administration, waiting rooms have been built throughout the city, and efforts are being made to make them functional and usable. The administration further stated that separate waiting rooms for women will be built so that they can board the bus without difficulty. In Quetta, there is no separate bus stop for women, and female passengers as well as students also complain about the lack of bus stops.

”I have to travel by two local buses every day to go to university,” Shahid Ali, a student at the University of Balochistan and a resident of Nawan Killi, noted, adding, ”but in the meantime, you have to stand on the side of the road to wait for the bus.”

To begin with, the roads are extremely narrow, and there is no waiting room, making matters worse.

Nisar, a primary school teacher, also has numerous grievances. ”The buses are already in poor condition, with no proper bus stops, and the cherry on top is that they are always overcrowded, making it dangerous for the passengers,” he said.

He further added that there is no proper check and balance from local law enforcement or administration to take action against them on the road.

”We belong to the poor class, and our income is insufficient to afford taxis; our only option is local bus service, and when it puts our lives in danger, we will not prefer to travel on such buses,” he explained.