Several local residents said that on the one hand, private buses and wagons were not available on the roads as many drivers had to surrender their vehicles with the initiation of the BRT service, while on the other, the BRT also decreased the numbers of the buses on Eid holidays.
Under such circumstances, the taxicab and rickshaw drivers seized on the situation and overcharged passengers.
Some people have called for initiating a BRT route from Grand Trunk Road up to Karkhano Market via Ring Road to provide better transport facilities to the villagers along the Ring Road.
They said this step would also shift burden from the main corridor and a huge number of people, who reached the main corridor for taking the facility from one point to another, would avail the same facility on Ring Road.
TransPeshawar spokesperson says buses reduced on Eid because ridership decreased to around 29,000 from an average 250,000 on normal days as many leave Peshawar for native towns on Eid
Speaking to The Nation, TransPeshawar spokesperson Sadaf Kamil said that on normal days, there is an average ridership of 270,000. However, there was a ridership of around 29,000 on Eid days, prompting the company to reduce the number of buses on the holidays while it is around 250,000 on normal days.
Recently, the TransPeshawar released a report, stating that 1.2 million Zu [BRT] cards had been purchased overall, while around 200,000 cards have been sold in the year 2022 alone.
She said TransPeshawar had an active monitoring system and continuously monitored the passenger situation at every station. She said the company operated buses according to the ridership at various stations.