**ISLAMABAD: **As Punjab authorities inject more taxpayers’ money to keep buses running under its metro project, commuters travelling along four-dozen other routes in Lahore are suffering due to the dilapidated condition of transport, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Launched at a cost of Rs30 billion for a 27-kilometre-long route in Lahore city, Metro Bus Service is causing a daily loss of approximately Rs5 million to the government while the Turkish company operating the buses almost recovered its cost within a year, a concerned official said.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Not that it was expected to be profitable, but this was one of the most ill advised projects undertaken by Shahbaz Sharif. Done solely for votes, and not for public benefit, it was ill planned, and ill-executed, apart from being a very expensive affair, the true cost of which we may never know, as its records were conveniently destroyed in the LDA fire.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
So efficient public transport is NOT what the country needs? Someone please explain how its economically feasible for there to be schools for example, but no cheap effective way for students to get there...
According to critics, Pakistanis should all get to work or school on the backs of motorcycles, in cars stuck in traffic jams and those three wheeled motorbikes?
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Not that it was expected to be profitable, but this was one of the most ill advised projects undertaken by Shahbaz Sharif. Done solely for votes, and not for public benefit, it was ill planned, and ill-executed, apart from being a very expensive affair, the true cost of which we may never know, as its records were conveniently destroyed in the LDA fire.
There is a video of Imran Khan claiming the same thing in an interview about the Lahore metro. Surprisingly, his own govt in KP is building a similar bus system in Peshawar.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Not that it was expected to be profitable, but this was one of the most ill advised projects undertaken by Shahbaz Sharif. Done solely for votes, and not for public benefit, it was ill planned, and ill-executed, apart from being a very expensive affair, the true cost of which we may never know, as its records were conveniently destroyed in the LDA fire.
You either don't live in Pakistan or have never been to Lahore. 20 rupees to go anywhere in that city is cheap as hell and does benefit the public immensely.
It makes their day easier. And saves them at least 100 rupees a day. But then again you actually need to be Pakistani to care.
As for the subsidy, that is insane. Way to high. But when do we get it? After a certain period it should come under govt control.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
You either don't live in Pakistan or have never been to Lahore. 20 rupees to go anywhere in that city is cheap as hell and does benefit the public immensely.
It makes their day easier. And saves them at least 100 rupees a day. But then again you actually need to be Pakistani to care.
As for the subsidy, that is insane. Way to high. But when do we get it? After a certain period it should come under govt control.
Subsidy is high, no doubt about that.. but it is surely benefiting hundred of thousands of commuters on daily basis...
not very long ago, i did same kind of project in Jordan, where the govt promised heavy subsidiary...
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
You either don't live in Pakistan or have never been to Lahore. 20 rupees to go anywhere in that city is cheap as hell and does benefit the public immensely.It makes their day easier. And saves them at least 100 rupees a day. But then again you actually need to be Pakistani to care.As for the subsidy, that is insane. Way to high. But when do we get it? After a certain period it should come under govt control.
Next time you are in Lahore, please board the metro at multan link road to "anywhere", and let me know how was the trip. Or hop on the metro at the airport and go to a destination of your choice.Before making judgment calls on others, make sure you read their post properly. I am from Lahore, and I travel there enough to drive my family crazy.
I never said public transport was not needed. Read my post, and you will see that I said that the project was ill-planned. It is needed, but needed administrative planning, not political planning.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Ah so you are one of those people. If it doesn't benefit me it doesn't benefit the public.
Again....using common sense is well advised.
If you care to travel the metro, or even look at the map of the metro, it runs along only 1 main thoroughfare of Lahore. Not administratively viable.
Secondly, it was built in 'record time' which has led to a mess on ferozpur road for as many people as those riding the metro itself. Thirdly, the construction is good looking, but shoddy. Thats what happens in speedy affairs.
Lets ask them, if after following up footsteps of Shehbaz Sharif to start a Metro project in Peshawer and that too after opposing the same project in Lahore, how will they defend PTI when they also opt for same subsidy route? such projects always need subsidy in our part of the world, BTW.
As an engineer associated with design and delivery of large infrastructure projects in the Middle East, including a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) - or what in Pakistan is called Metrobus, I am used to the term “Fitness for Purpose” to describe whether the actual use of an engineered project fulfills the purpose for which it was built.
This term also addresses whether or not the project cost is in line with acceptable benchmarks and highlights under-designed and over-designed projects.
During a recent trip to Pindi, I was asked if the Lahore and Rawalpindi Metrobus projects were Fit for Purpose?
To assess the project efficacy, we need to compare the Metrobus’s ridership with overall vehicular trips in Lahore.
With over 350,000 cars and 850,000 motorcycles on the roads of Lahore, congestion, pollution and safety are key issues, the stated purpose of the Metrobus project is to increase the share of public transport in Lahore, and accordingly provide safe, reliable transport.
For a city of approximately 7 million population as per the urban transport forum, based on surveys in Lahore, there were approximately 5.3 million trips/day vehicular trips – excluding walking and cycling (at 0.75 trips/person – this incidentally is half as compared to other cities in Asia).
A successfully designed public transport program should aim for at least 20 per cent ridership, whilst the actual daily ridership for the Lahore Metrobus is 180,000 trips/day or 3.3 per cent of the overall, the impact is therefore insufficient in reducing congestion in the city, expect perhaps on that corridor.
The most successful BRT project in the world is the TransMilenio in Bogota Columbia, which has a ridership of 2.2million/day and peak time capacity of over 37,700 trips/direction/hour. In Asia, the Guangzhou BRT has a ridership of 1 million trips/day with a peak capacity of 27,000 trips/direction/hour.
In both these projects, the buses run in separate corridors, mainly at grade without elevated sections. Based on my knowledge of designing similar infrastructure, in its current design format, the Lahore or Pindi metro may not achieve such capacities due to:
• No overtaking provisions at stations eliminating the possibility to use multiple services on the same route, limiting the number of buses per direction.
• Bus stops are not big enough to accommodate several buses within the same stop. Limiting the number of buses that can simultaneously run on the same line.
• Insufficient investment in the bus fleet.
• Insufficient city-wide coverage to attract passengers, it is not a network but only one line, it would have been better to have built a lower cost, but a wider network with more lines and reach across the city.
• No provision of a feeder bus system to ferry passengers not living near the route.
• No linkages with the city’s other mode of transport – bus, rail, air.
• No provisions for transfer stations linking with future lines, as some stations are elevated, building these connections now would be challenging.
• The Metrobus should be an integral part of the overall city transport network and should inform the future development of the city, future public transport corridors should be part of the master plan for all new developments, including DHA, etc.
According to the American Public Transport Association BRT infrastructure should cost US $2-18 million/km, the Lahore Metrobus’ infrastructure capital cost is more expensive as compared to international benchmarks. As per published figures, the infrastructure costs in US$ per kilometer (all costs escalated to 2014) for BRT for various cities are:
Ahmedabad, India $3 million/km
Dalian, China $4.5m/km
Guangzhou, China $6.5m/km
Istanbul, Turkey $10m/km
Bogota, Columbia (new phase) $13.3m/km
Lima, Peru $10m/km
Los Angeles, USA $ 14.4m/km
Given lower labour costs in Pakistan and averaging the above figures, a fair estimate for infrastructure costs should be approximately $5-7m/km.
[HR][/HR]Therefore, at $11m/km, the Lahore Metrobus cost wise is substantially higher than the benchmark.
[HR][/HR]Although there is no evidence of corruption or any wrong doing, it is the expensive design and accelerated delivery that may have led to the price escalation.
Once major projects are completed, a “lessons learnt” exercise is normally held so that future projects learn from and improve upon the previous one. The lessons learnt exercise should have included why earlier bus services such as the Lahore Volvo bus and the Pindi Varan bus are no longer running; was it due to a non-sustainable business model, high fuel costs, lack of spare parts and replacement of the fleet, poor governance or road congestion?
Unfortunately, this was not done and the newly started Rs 50 billion Pindi Metrobus project, seems to repeat the same mistakes as the earlier Lahore one.
It is not clear how the Pindi Metrobus strategically fits in the overall transport master plan, whether this project is for commuters to Islamabad; or for residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad? Globally 80 per cent of commuters use trains (both over ground and underground) as the preferred means of travel (trains regularly reach speeds of 100 kph and carry up to 800 passengers per train, unlike buses that travel at 25 kph and carry 100 passengers).
At current growth rates by 2035 Pindi-Islamabad will have a combined population of approximately five million, given that most of whom will not be able to afford living in Islamabad, and that the extended city would stretch from Hasanabdal, Fatehjang to Mandra, the transportation master plan should take cognizance of that in its design intent.
If we look at costs, as stated previously the cost of the Pindi Metrobus should not be approximately $6m/Km as compared to the actual estimated cost is Rs 50 billionn for 24.5 km or $20 million/km.
Based on surveys approximately. 200,000 vehicles/day travel from Pindi to Islamabad or 550,000 (persons) trips take place daily between the two cities, if we assume a 50 per cent capture for public transport then, today, the designed capacity of the Metrobus should be at least 300,000 trips/day as opposed to the current stated capacity of 150,000.
If we project this volume 10 years hence, it will underline that the Metrobus is significantly undersized and should be able to reach a capacity of approx. 500,000 trips/day. Also read:Metrobus: mobility and sensibility
The Metrobus is an excellent idea and the Punjab government should be appreciated for its effort in initiating and implementing this project in a record time, but unfortunately it is also a symptom of a failing system whereby there is no independent regulatory authority to challenge the provincial government’s project intent, and safeguard public interest.
More time should have been given to studies (including environmental), planning and design rather than hurried implementation. The tax payers of this country should rightfully ask,Why are they paying more than Rs 30 billion over international prices for an undersized transport system?
It may be still not be too late for the government to reassess the project and carry out a value engineering exercise to ruthlessly cut costs and maximise value for money, at the same time modify the design to maximise the systems passenger carrying capacity. It should also evaluate how this fits in the overall city master plan, assess actual current and future demands versus existing capacity in the proposed system.
In my opinion, the public hearing process should be strengthened, where in the hearings the business model is explained, to appreciate what additional investment would be needed to fund and operate the vehicle fleet, what is the correct ticket price and how an independent accountable management structure is in place to sustain this investment.
The regulatory system needs to be strengthened so that government entities are not allowed to brow beat regulators into hurriedly approving projects, Pakistan is a poor country and deserves affordable, properly designed, infrastructure that is “Fit for Purpose”.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Dont misquote, like others are doing in this thread. I for one have never said that a viable service is not needed. It is required, but it has to be well planned, as it is built for the long term, not for a few years. Lahore metro is needed, but instead of Shahbaz Sharif being the architect, buyer, builder, developer etc, proper feasiblity should be done, and professionals should run the show with no interference from the govt.
Peshawar metro has gone through a better feasibility study, and it is being built as a combined bus and rail service from the start…something that should have been done in Lahore as well.
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
This is not answer to my question. I was talking about Peshawer metro and that there are good chances that Peshawer Metro will go through same subsidy route. First PTI supporters have objection for Metro project on the context that Punjab Government missed other priorities (health, education, etc) by consuming all their budget on this single project.
Has PTI government in KP addressed all its priorities before following the footsteps of PMLN?
Has the education system reached satisfactory level in the province?
Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Dont misquote, like others are doing in this thread. I for one have never said that a viable service is not needed. It is required, but it has to be well planned, as it is built for the long term, not for a few years. Lahore metro is needed, but instead of Shahbaz Sharif being the architect, buyer, builder, developer etc, proper feasiblity should be done, and professionals should run the show with no interference from the govt.
Peshawar metro has gone through a better feasibility study, and it is being built as a combined bus and rail service from the start....something that should have been done in Lahore as well.
And how do you know the feasibility study was done at as higher standard? Vested interests?