PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday heard the petition of a rickshaw driver against the ban on plying rickshaws and cabs along the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) route.
A bench of the high court, consisting Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Nasir Mahfooz, summoned the TransPeshawar CEO and Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) DG in the hearing of the case on Wednesday (tomorrow).
Justice Qaiser Rashid in his remarks noted that the BRT service usually come to a halt after every few days due to some fault. “Every person does not own a vehicle.”
Justice Rashid also questioned keeping the BRT buses under the open sky. TransPeshawar’s representative, who was present during the hearing, said that these buses could resist the impact of the weather.
“So you will keep the buses parked in the open sky if they are resistant to the weather’s impact?” the judge asked the company’s representative. “Are these buses gifted to you or purchased with public tax money?”
Earlier, the lawyer for the petitioner said that the government issued a notification restricting route permits for rickshaws and cabs and banning their plying on the BRT route. He said the BRT route was spread over around 30 kilometers and passed through all main areas of the provincial capital.
The lawyer said rickshaws or cabs were mostly used by patients, elderly people and students, so banning them on main roads would cause inconvenience to commuters. He said the government’s move would render thousands of rickshaw drivers out of work.
