Re: Metro Bus Service: Punjab pays Rs5m per day as subsidy
Pakistanis aren’t very good at planning generally. But thats an issue that needs to be covered in a more general sense. I suspect one of the reasons the Lahore Metro was done so haphazardly and apparently without a proper plan was indeed politics. The PML-N probably realizes that the more you delay these projects the less likely they are to actually get off the ground. Look at the situation in Karachi for example. The point being, when there is so much opposition, I think they feel its best to get things rolling as soon as they see a window of opportunity, otherwise they will get bogged down with red-tape, dharnas etc etc. Its the nature of politics in Pakistan, that nothing ever gets done if you dont have the strength to muscle things through.
The system needs to be expanded, but it will take time. Have to start somewhere.
Subsidies according to economics 101, should theoretically pay for themselves. Its only been a year or so since the start of this thing. The economic benefits may take time to be visible. Considering the fate of mass transit in Pakistan, I think you should be happy to have gotten this, even if its less then ideal in its formulation.
And a political party that doesn’t do something for the sake of politics is not a political party, its a charity. You would have to be naive to assume that the PTI is any less political then the PML. They want to be in power as much as the next guy.