We all remember that before Metro the public transportation in Islamabad was generally in disarray, necessitating immediate government intervention. As a result, in the early 2010s, the provincial and federal governments joined forces to launch the Islamabad metro bus project, based on research and various studies conducted by the Government of Punjab and CDA. The goal was to connect Islamabad and Rawalpindi while also alleviating traffic congestion on the corridor. The metro buses are very comfortable and clean unlike those public transport the tickets are fixed and there is no hassle for catching a bus.
Routes of Metro Bus in Islamabad and Rawalpindi
The metro bus service consists of two routes that are named as:
- Line 1
- Line 2
Line 1 of Metro Bus Station
Line 1 went into service in June 2015. It begins in front of the Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad and travels through heart of the capital, and ends in Saddar, Rawalpindi’s commercial district.
Metro stations / stops along the route are listed below in sequence:
- Pak Secretariat
- Parade Ground
- Shaheed-e-Millat
- 7th Avenue
- Stock Exchange
- PIMS
- Kachehry
- Ibn-e-Sina
- Chaman
- Kashmir Highway
- Faiz Ahmed Faiz
- Khayaban-e-Johar
- Potohar
- IJP
- Faizabad
- Shamsabad
- 6th Road
- Rehmanabad
- Chandni Chowk
- Waris Khan
- Committee Chowk
- Liaqat Bagh
- Marrir Chowk
- Saddar
Line 2 of Metro Bus Station
The 27-kilometre line 2 from Kashmir Highway metro station to the new Islamabad International Airport runs parallel to the Srinagar Highway. Line 2 bus stops, as shown on the above metro bus route map, are:
- Kashmir Highway
- H-9/G-9
- IIUI/G-10
- High Court
- H-11/G-11
- NUST/G-12 (East)
- NUST/G-12 (West)
- Golra Mor/G-13
- Grand Trunk Road
- Jammu & Kashmir/ G-15
- Badhana Kalan/G-16
- M1/M2 Interchange
- Rakh Pind Ranjha
- Islamabad Airport
Fare and Ticket of Metro Bus
Metro Bus operates at 6:15 am to 10 pm both in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The system makes use of both an Intelligent Transportation System wand and an e-ticketing system. There are ticketing booths, escalators, toilets, platform screens, automatic fare collection turnstiles, and other amenities to help passengers travel safely and easily. A central ITS control room oversees the entire operation of the bus rapid transit system.
The ticket will cost you around PKR 40 that you can get from the station. Both the metro bus card and the token serve the same purpose, but the card is better suited for someone who commutes to school/university or their workplace on a daily basis because they will not have to wait in line for a token.
A token, on the other hand, is only valid for one trip and has a time limit of about an hour after which it is no longer accepted at the turnstile. If the token runs out of time and the person does not exit the turnstile, he or she is fined 50 rupees, which must be paid in cash on the spot. If the carrier misplaces the token, the same procedure is followed.
12 Interesting Facts about Metro Bus
- The Islamabad Metro Bus system consists of two routes, which are classified as Phase 1 and Phase 2.
- Phase 1 of the Metro Bus network runs for 23 kilometres between Islamabad’s Pak Secretariat and Rawalpindi’s Saddar.
- The second phase of the Islamabad Metro route is approximately 25.6 kilometres long, running from Peshawar Morr Interchange to New Islamabad International Airport.
- The system makes use of an e-ticketing system.
- Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metro Bus costs approximately PKR 44.8 billion and has 24 bus stations.
- The transporters are charged a one-way fare of PKR 30. Despite fluctuations in gasoline prices, it has not changed.
- There are 68 buses in total, with 60 buses currently in use and 8 buses kept in reserve.
- Platform Turizm, a private Turkish company, owns the buses Major.
- Metro Buses in Islamabad have high operating, procurement, and maintenance costs.
- The Turkish company, Platform Turizm, also provides bus drivers. The Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) provides the drivers with schedules and routes to follow.
- The Metro Bus Corridor is 23 kilometres long in total, with 8.6 kilometres elevated, 10 kilometres at grade, and four kilometres trench.
- The Islamabad Metro transports approximately 135,000 passengers per day.
Maintenance of Metro Busses
The Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Chief Minister of Punjab co-chaired a meeting in 2014 at which the federal and provincial governments approved the project on a 50:50 basis.
The Prime Minister delegated responsibility to the Punjab government through the Rawalpindi Development Authority because the Punjab government had completed a metro bus project in Lahore (RDA). When the metro bus project is completed, the Punjab Metro Bus Authority (PMA) will be in charge of its operation and maintenance.
Travelling Becomes Easier With the Metro!
Metro has made travelling easier for the local citizens of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Students are utilising the services and saving a huge amount of money that they were spending on travel allowance.
