The management of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service is spending a substantial amount on electricity bills against the policy by switching lights on at metro bus stations and metro tracks during the whole night. A high ranked official of Punjab Metro Bus Authority told Business Recorder that the Authority had formulated a policy for all stations that the lights be switched off by 1 am. However, he acknowledged that the Authority was receiving complaints that some stations were violating directives and keeping lights on the entire night.
He further said that IESCO provided electricity to 23km length metro track and in case of loadshedding the stations used to run expensive power generators. IESCO charges electricity for each station individually. Staff at Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat Station maintained that the general public benefitted from the lighting at metro stations as streetlights on Jinnah Avenue were switched off during the night to save electricity.
Another official associated with Metro Bus Service said the operation of metro bus service closed at 10:00pm, adding that from 10:00pm to 11:00pm the metro buses returned to their depot and from 11:00pm to 12:00pm the staff closed accounts, but from midnight onward till 6:00am the staff of metro bus stations cleaned the stations and tracks, for which the lights remained switched on all the night.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) installed modern LED lights, imported from China, on the route of Metro Bus Project to save energy and reduce the electricity bill. On metro track of Islamabad 340 lighting poles have been installed. On 23-kilometre line, 68 air-conditioned buses carry an estimated 135,000 passengers a day along exclusive signal-free lanes. The project was built in 13 months - six months longer than planned - at a cost of 44.84 billion rupees.
The metro pus project consisted of eight portions that include three portions in Rawalpindi and five in Islamabad. In Rawalpindi portion, there were 10 bus stations located at Flashman's Hotel, Marrir Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, Committee Chowk, Waris Khan Road, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rehmanabad, 6th Road, Shamsabad and Faizabad. In Islamabad portion, there are 14 bus stations located at IJP Road, Potohar Road, Khyban-e-Johar Road, Faiz Ahmed Faiz Road, Peshawar Mor Interchange, Chamnan Station (at G-9/4), Ibne Seena Road, Kachehry Road, Centaurs Station, Islamabad Stock Exchange Station, 7th Avenue Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Parade Ground station and Pak Secretariat.