Ladies college students and staff journey free from harassment within the BRT buses, which reserves seats for them within the conservative area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A bus speedy transport (BRT) system in Peshawar is benefiting feminine college students and dealing ladies by offering a protected journey – one thing ladies passengers couldn’t take without any consideration on common public transport.
“Previous to the launch of the Bus Speedy Transit (BRT) system, ladies confronted monumental hardships in reaching faculties and universities, however now, we don’t have any situation in attending to our respective establishments in a well timed method,” Javeria Khan, 21, a pupil on the College of Peshawar, informed IPS.
She stated that two of her elder sisters had left schooling after completion of secondary college due to an absence of correct transportation providers.
“Now, there’s a sea-change as far transportation is anxious; because of BRT by, we attain house on time with none hindrance,” Javeria, a pupil on the Division of Chemistry, stated.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one in all Pakistan’s 4 provinces, is taken into account conservative the place most ladies cowl their faces whereas venturing out in public and keep away from touring with males in buses; the brand new service has proved a blessing for the feminine inhabitants residing within the capital metropolis of Peshawar.
There’s a 27 km lengthy hall with as many stations to facilitate about 400,000 folks each day, together with 20 p.c ladies.
BRT launched in April 2020, fleet incorporates a fleet of 150 air-conditioned buses imported from China, which cost folks USD 0.24 from the primary to the final station, and the fare is simply USD 0.09 for a single cease.
“We’ve got allotted 25 seats to ladies in every bus, in order that they don’t face any harassment. The buses go alongside the principle highway, which gives a service to most people in addition to the scholars,” Umair Khan, spokesman for BRT, informed IPS.
Earlier than the BRT, there have been complaints of harassment and excessive fares charged by personal buses, which deterred the ladies from touring, he stated. “Now, ladies have separate compartments with safety measures in place to make sure the protected journey of all of the commuters.”
In February 2022, the BRT obtained Gold Commonplace Award for reworking transport by its clear know-how buses and selling non-motorized site visitors. A month earlier than, it obtained the certificates of Worldwide Sustainable Award from the Worldwide Transport Group, whereas UN Women has additionally honored the BRT for offering a safe traveling facility to women.
Transport Ticketing International, UK introduced the award to BRT for alleviating the lives of a giant section of society using innovative solutions, Khan stated.
An area resident, Palwasha Bibi, 30, informed IPS that she thinks that the BRT has been constructed to help ladies staff.
“It was a Herculean job to get a seat in a personal bus earlier than the BRT. Even when one was fortunate to get a seat, the fares had been excessive, and the drivers had been reluctant to drive quick as they waited for extra folks to embark on the bus to earn extra money,” Bibi, who works in a garment manufacturing unit in Peshawar’s industrial Property, stated.
Most of the time, my colleagues and I encountered pay cuts for arriving late on the manufacturing unit, she stated. “Now, we attain quarter-hour earlier than obligation time as a result of the BRT has a strict timing schedule. It stops at each station for 20 seconds solely,” Bibi stated.
BRT can be serving to the widespread folks.
Muhammad Zaheer, 31, a salesman at a grocery store, stated that he had been utilizing a motorcycle to succeed in the outlet, which value him extra time and cash.
“Many occasions, I additionally confronted minor accidents as a consequence of enormous rush on the highway, however now the BRT has a signal-free route with no likelihood of accidents, and the fee could be very low,” he stated.
Our supervisor could be very comfortable that I get to the store early than my obligation time, and the identical is true for over a dozen of my co-workers, Zaheer, father of three, stated.
Naureena Shah a feminine pupil on the Islamia Faculty Peshawar, stated the BRT had been a blessing for her.
“My dad and mom have requested me to cease schooling as a result of each day we encountered issues, however the BRT has helped me to proceed my research as a result of I arrive on the school and get again house effectively on time,” she stated. My dad and mom are now not opposing my research as a result of additionally they use BRT for procuring and so forth, she stated.
Now, I’ll get medical schooling to serve sufferers, she stated.
Nasreen Hamid, a schoolteacher, is all reward for BRT providers.
“It has benefitted me in two methods. I exploit the service for going to obligation and getting again house and likewise for going to market,” she stated.
Spogmay Khan (17), a second-year pupil on the Jinnah Faculty for Ladies, stated that each one her class fellows had been praising former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who began the service within the metropolis.
She stated a lot of the college students who had been dropped off by fathers or brothers on the school had been now touring alone as a result of the buses had been protected.
“The principle highway stays flooded with automobiles, making it tough to attend courses with punctuality, however the BRT route is clean, and no site visitors jams, as a consequence of which we take pleasure in touring within the buses,” she stated.
Khan stated that it has actually improved ladies’s schooling and the credit score goes to former Prime Minister Imran Khan. “A lot of our classmates wouldn’t have been in a position to take admission due to the messy site visitors and worn-out buses, however the BRT has solved this situation, as soon as and for all,” she stated
BRT’s spokesman Umair Khan stated that they had began feeder routes to make sure passengers can use the ability close to their houses. The feeder buses use the roads, and the passengers take these buses after disembarking from the buses on (BRT) corridors.
“About 20 p.c of the BRT’s 4000 workers are females,” he stated.