THE Sindh government recently raised the fare of its Peoples Bus Service (PBS). The service, operating in Karachi since June 2022, was a great relief for the people who had been seriously troubled by the city’s outdated and inconvenient public transport system. Initially, the one-way PBS fare was fixed at Rs50 from one destination to any other destination. Unfortunately, the baseline fare has now been increased to Rs80 and another fare of Rs120 has been introduced. This has left the commuters, mostly belonging to the salaried, middle class, financially burdened. The decision has caused a lot of frustration and anxiety among the commuters.

While the Sindh government has opted to burden the people of Karachi, who already face several other issues, like lack of transport, battered roads, poor utility services and lawlessness, its counterpart in Punjab is facilitating its people.

In Lahore, a one-way ticket for the metro bus costs Rs30 from one destina-tion to any other. The service is managed by the Punjab Masstransit Authority (PMA), which also runs a similar facility in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The PMA also manages several feeder routes, which cost Rs20 for a single journey, Rs25 for two journeys, and Rs30 for three journeys. The Lahore Green Line metro bus card costs Rs100 and can be recharged as needed. With the card, travel costs are reduced to Rs5 per station, including the base fare of Rs15.

To make things worse, while there are several PBS routes in Karachi, the number of buses is far less than what is required. Owing to this, passengers have to wait for a long time, and, when the bus does come, sometimes after more than 30 minutes, people are packed in it like sardines, with hardly any breathing space.

Besides, the bus is often not stopped by the driver at the designated stops even when the bus has space to accommodate more passengers. Some drivers ignore the bus stops located under the bridges and go over the bridges, as a result of which passengers have to undergo additional waiting time.

If the Sindh government is serious about facilitating the people, then, apart from reducing PBS fares, it should improve the quality of the service by increasing the number of buses and extending its operating daily hours. Ideally, the service should run from dawn till midnight.

Israr Ayoubi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2025