Metro bus contractors of phase-I & III directed to meet Dec 25 deadline

[Salman]

RAWALPINDI: Metro Bus Project contractors of Phase-I and III have been directed to meet December 25 deadline even if they had to run three shifts.According to the former MNA and Chairman, Metro Bus Service Project Implementation Committee and Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Metro Bus Service will be launched on Jan 30.He said that 24-kilometer long metro bus service will be signal free and the project will be completed in January. Abbasi said 216 meter long and 19 meter wide, 10 bus stations are being constructed in Rawalpindi while 14 stations will be built in Islamabad. Every bus station would have state of the art facilities like screen doors, lifts, electronic stairs, ticket station and automatic platforms. Metro Bus Authority will take over the command and control centre and bus stations of metro bus service in December, he added.The contractors are trying hard to complete the construction work on metro bus command and control centre and 14 bus stations within shortest possible time frame, he said. The Metro Bus Authority would install elevator, escalator, security camera monitors and other equipment at the centre and bus stations, he said. Abbasi said the Metro Bus Authority would not only run the bus service but also handle other issues including security and providing ambulance service in case of an accident.He said a seven-story plaza is being constructed in Saddar where two floors would be allocated for the command and control centre and the remaining for parking vehicles of the passengers. CCTV cameras would be installed on the elevated road and main route of the bus service and monitored from the command and control centre.Hanif Abbasi said that the metro bus project is a gift of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and according to their directions; work on all eight packages is in full swing.He further said metro bus project would facilitate as many as 160,000 commuters traveling by public transport daily. Sixty-four air-conditioned buses would initially ply on the Rawalpindi-Islamabad route. Hanif Abbasi said subsidized fare of Metro Bus service from Rawalpindi to Islamabad will be Rs 20, which is far less than the fare of public transport.