Islamabad & Rawalpindi Metro Bus to Undergo Major Repairs After Government Meeting

If you ride the Metro Bus between Rawalpindi and Islamabad every day, you already know the truth.

The track is cracked. Stations are falling apart. Elevators don’t work half the time. And the ride that used to feel smooth now feels like you’re driving over potholes in a truck.

Good news: the federal and Punjab governments just sat down and agreed, enough is enough.

What Actually Happened in the Meeting

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Punjab Transport Minister Bilal Akbar Khan this week. No long speeches. No photo ops that lead to nothing.

They looked at the problems straight on and said the Islamabad section, especially from Faizabad to Pakistan Secretariat, needs urgent repair work. The track is in the worst shape there. Stations look tired. People are complaining daily.

Both sides agreed to form a joint coordination committee. This isn’t another useless task force. This committee will handle everything: repairs, route expansion, new buses, and daily operations. One team, one plan.

Electric Buses Are Coming Slowly But Surely

Naqvi pointed out that Islamabad’s new electric buses are already running and keep adding new areas. The plan is to bring more of them into the Metro system.

Why this matters: the current diesel buses are old, expensive to run, and pollute the air we breathe. Electric buses cost less per kilometre and are quieter. Anyone who’s been stuck behind a smoky Metro bus on I.J.P. Road knows exactly why this upgrade is overdue.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The Metro Bus was launched back in 2014 to 2015 for Rs 44.8 billion.

It’s only 23 km long with 24 stations.

Yet every single day, it carries around 150,000 passengers.

That’s more people than many small cities have in total.

For 10+ years, this service has been the backbone for students, office workers, shopkeepers, and families who can’t afford cars. It’s cheap (Rs 50 from Saddar to Secretariat), it’s fast when it works, and it’s the only decent public transport we have between the twin cities.

But we’ve treated it badly. Maintenance has been poor. No major repairs in years. People started calling it “the shaking bus” for a reason.

Will This Actually Happen This Time?

We’ve heard promises before. Every few years, someone announces “big improvements coming soon,” and nothing changes.

This time feels different for two reasons.

First, both the federal and Punjab governments are run by the same political group right now. No blame game. No waiting for the other side to pay the bills.

Second, they’ve created a proper joint committee instead of leaving it to one department that keeps passing the file around.

If they move fast, we could see repair work start in the next few months. New electric buses could join the fleet by mid-2026.

What Riders Want Right Now

While the big plans are being made, here’s what regular people actually need today:

• Fix the broken escalators and elevators (especially at Saddar, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Secretariat stations)

• Repair the bumpy track sections that make your teeth rattle

• Clean the stations properly, they look abandoned after 6 PM

• Add more buses during peak hours, so we’re not packed like sardines

• Better lighting and security at night, especially for women

If the new committee can fix even these basic things in the first 100 days, people will believe the rest will follow.

Conclusion

The Metro Bus isn’t just a transport project. For lakhs of us, it’s how we get to work, university, hospital, or home to our kids.

It’s been ignored for too long. Now, finally, the people in charge are saying they’ll fix it together.

For more updates, visit DrivePK.com