The Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service will be temporarily suspended on the 9th and 10th of Muharram. A spokeswoman for Trans Peshawar, the corporation in charge of operating the BRT system, confirmed the decision.
The BRT service will be suspended on all routes throughout the days of Ashura to ensure the safety and smooth operation of religious processions.
In addition to the BRT service, Peshawar’s ZU Bicycle Sharing System will also be unavailable on Muharram 9th. However, the bicycle service will resume operations on Muharram 10th.
Earlier this month, the private company responsible for running Peshawar BRT, once again, threatened service shutdown over the non-payment of dues. According to a media report, the company wrote a letter to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Communications, highlighting the issue.
In the letter to the transport secretary, it was said that the company had asked for the release of Rs. 603 million in dues. So far, the dues for May and June have not been paid.
The letter further said that the delayed release of funds every month is in violation of the contract. The company doesn’t even have the money to pay salaries to employees or to refuel the BRT buses.
The letter warned that the funds had to be released within ten days. It is not yet clear if the dues have been paid off within the deadline, as the company has not announced a permanent shut down of the service.
