Evaluation of Urban Bus Transport Failure in Gujranwala City of Pakistan

  • Waqar Aslam Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency, Lahore Development Authority, Lahore
  • Zahara Batool Department of Transportation Engineering and Management, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

Abstract

This research work has evaluated the performance of urban public bus transport service operating in Gujranwala city of Pakistan. The assessment has been made in terms of financial viability, bus condition, operational performance and user perception. Based on the data requirements, various traffic/transport surveys were conducted including Passenger Boarding and Alighting Survey, Bus Count Survey, Bus Inspection Survey, Illegal Operations Survey and Public Transport User Interview Survey in consultation with concerned department/agencies. Field surveys were also conducted to get input from passengers and local people. Initial investigation informed that out of four operational bus routes, only two routes are profitable. The overall bus operation is running in loss (only 0.3% net profit). It has barely any profit for the bus operator against its investment thereby making the urban bus operation financially non-viable. The whole revenue flow is dependent on passenger ticketing revenue only. Around 35% of the buses are in poor condition with major issues of quality of tyres, no speedometer, worse condition of seats, floor and ceiling, and display of route. Illegal operation of Qingqis/Rickshaws (as para-transit mode) along the bus routes is also decreasing the revenue by capturing the passenger volume. According to passenger opinion analysis, around 55% of the passenger are not satisfied with the service quality and prefer other modes of transport. Their major concerns are absence of facilities for disables and bus stops, bus seating and standing capacity, poor bus condition and pick pocketing. Collectively, these factors are contributing towards the failure of bus public transport in Gujranwala city.

Published
Jul 1, 2017
How to Cite
ASLAM, Waqar; BATOOL, Zahara. Evaluation of Urban Bus Transport Failure in Gujranwala City of Pakistan. Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, [S.l.], v. 36, n. 3, p. 469-478, july 2017. ISSN 2413-7219. Available at: <https://publications.muet.edu.pk/index.php/muetrj/article/view/252>. Date accessed: 29 mar. 2024. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.22581/muet1982.1703.04.
Section
Articles
This is an open Access Article published by Mehran University of Engineering and Technolgy, Jamshoro under CCBY 4.0 International License