TDCP’s citywide service being ‘misused’

[LRE]

* Buses being rented out to schools for trips

By Ali Usman

LAHORE: The Tourism Development Corporation Punjab’s (TDCP) bus service ‘Aik Din Sadiyon Ka Safar’ is being used for entirely different purposes than intended after remaining suspended for several months, Daily Times has learnt. The bus service was launched on August 31, 2009 in an effort to revive the city’s lost glory by taking local and foreign tourists to historical places in the city. The service was terminated after a month of its launch and the buses are now being used for commercial purposes by renting them out to different schools for their trips. The service’s aim was to attract foreign tourists to Lahore and strengthen domestic tourism. It consisted of uniformed crew and tour guides to educate tourists about various historical locations. The luxury, air-conditioned buses used to complete the route in three hours. Initially, four buses were used for the service and the route started from Liberty Market and ended at Minar-e-Pakistan. It included 16 historical sites, such as Liberty Market, Ichhra, The Mall, Jail Road, Cantonment, Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Museum and Anarkali. A special jingle – ‘Aa dekh mera Punjab’ – had also been composed for the service. TDCP officials had fixed ticket price at Rs 100 while tickets for the sites were also sold inside the bus. The project, however, was discontinued and is not expected to resume in the near future, a TDCP official requesting anonymity told Daily Times. He said the TDCP was a profit-making corporation but the bus service could not be continued, as there were differences among senior officials regarding the route and the mechanism of the service. “Giving these specially-designed buses to schools for their trips is like killing the real purpose of these buses. The bus service can do a lot to promote tourism in Lahore and should be used for its real purpose,” the official opined. TDCP Managing Director Mian Waheeduddin said the buses were not running currently owing to security concerns, adding that they were being rented to different schools for their educational tours. He said the schools are supposed to apply with the TDCP and the buses are rented to them after fulfilling official procedures.


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