Effect of LTC being closed on public

Lahore Transport Company (LTC) are operating public transport buses in Lahore. established under the provisions of Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965 as an Urban Transport Company in April 2009 by the Government of Punjab. LTC has been registered under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984, repealed with Companies Act 2017 in the province of Punjab, with the Registrar Joint Stock Companies, Lahore. LTC was responsible for urban transport system which was earlier managed by the Transport Department in Pakistan. The LTC has 863 buses, 2200 wagons, and 34000 auto rickshaws. But with the passage of time instead of increasing the number of vehicles and their routes, there are decreasing.

On December 5, 2019 the authorities closed more than 200 buses from 19 routes due to insufficient facilities and end of the agreement with transport operators. 

Effects:

It causes adversely affect on people some of them are:

•    Lost of jobs of LTC employs. This increase the unemployment rate in Pakistan. It makes them financially unstable.
•   It affects the routine of school and college going students. Especially for the student who student this cheapest service to over their transport problems.
•  People are forced to use private transports which economically effect people with low incomes as private drivers does not have fixed rent everyone have different rate of rents.
• Discomfort and harassment for any age of women.
•  Effects people coming from different cities such as Sheikhupura and such other cities to meet with their loved one or to do different task.
•  Cause an increase in rents of rickshaw and qinqi.

In this regard the authorities claimed that the recent decision to close down three more routes was taken by the company that owns the buses. LTC was only managing them. Their main reason was that the buses had exhausted their run. We were routinely getting reports of buses having technical issues, and passengers being affected.

A senior official at LTC denied the role of Metro Bus Service in the closure of the LTC bus routes they say, “We had relocated competing routes. The Metro and Orange Line are an organized way to move people. I would say that through these we will provide better quality services.”

A detailed summary of this matter has been sent to Punjab Transport Authority. Now the court is going to handle this matter.