The private company operating Lahore’s Metro Bus Service on the 27-kilometre Gajjumata-Shahdara route has announced that it will stop running the service from August 11 due to an unresolved dispute with the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) over fuel costs and other financial matters.
The company has sent a final notice to the PMA, stating that it has used up its financial resources and is no longer in a position to continue operations without fuel provided by the authority. It referred to a July 29 court order that directed the PMA to arrange fuel from its own resources.
According to the company, a meeting with PMA officials on August 6 failed to resolve the issue. It said the service would remain suspended unless the PMA immediately acted in accordance with the court order.
Read Also: Punjab govt approves new rules for private housing schemes
A senior official of the company said the increase in diesel prices had led to a major rise in operating expenses. He said the existing fuel reimbursement mechanism was not enough to cover the company’s actual fuel costs, leaving it to pay the remaining amount from its own funds and through borrowing.
A senior PMA official confirmed the dispute and said the authority had challenged the court order. He added that the PMA planned to use a clause in its contract that allows arbitrators to be appointed to settle the matter.
The official said the PMA could not provide fuel without approval from the government. However, he added that the authority had arranged some buses from outside the existing system so that the service could continue if the private operator stops running buses on August 11.