ISLAMABAD
\nThe recent rollback of the Metro Bus fare from Rs. 100 to Rs. 50, following public outcry and the prime minister\u2019s intervention, has offered immediate relief to thousands of commuters in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. But behind the applause lies a more complex challenge: how to sustain quality public transport while keeping it affordable for the masses.
\nInitially, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) defended the 100% fare hike as a necessary response to rising fuel and maintenance costs. The aim was to maintain the Metro\u2019s standards, cleanliness, punctuality, air conditioning, and consistent service, which many consider superior to other public transport options. However, the sudden doubling of fares triggered backlash from students, daily-wage earners, and elderly citizens who rely on the Metro for their essential travel.
\n\u201cI spend Rs. 3,000 a month just commuting to work,\u201d said Ghulam Abbas, a construction worker talking to media. \u201cThat\u2019s a major hit to my grocery budget.\u201d Similarly, schoolgirl Asma shared with this scribe how she considered skipping lunch to manage travel costs. With stories like these surfacing widely, the fare hike quickly turned into a flashpoint.
\nThe government ultimately reversed the decision on June 5, reinstating the original Rs. 50 fare. Commuters welcomed the move, and for many, it reaffirmed faith in responsive governance. But this solution, while popular, raises an important question: can the Metro sustain quality service on its current fare model?
\nMetro drivers, too, expressed concerns, not just about wages, which remained unchanged, but about increasing frustration from both management and passengers. \u201cThe fare change came overnight,\u201d said driver Zahid Khan. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get more pay, and now we\u2019re blamed when people are angry about delays or crowded buses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The recent rollback of the Metro Bus fare from Rs. 100 to Rs. 50, following public outcry and the prime minister\u2019s intervention, has offered immediate relief to thousands of commuters in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. But behind the applause lies a more complex challenge: how to sustain quality public transport while keeping it affordable for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":82454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82462,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82447\/revisions\/82462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}