ISLAMABAD – Absence of taxi stand at Pirwadhai bus terminal is hampering traffic flow as cabbies park vehicles on the road, creating traffic jams.

The cabbies try to park their vehicles on the road close to the buses, arriving from other cities in order to take a lead in picking passengers. This creates traffic jams that sometime leads to road accidents.
Expressing concern over the situation, transporters have demanded to set up a taxi stand to facilitate passengers and transporters.
Tahir Wasim, a bus driver said it was a challenge to move the bus at this terminal as cabbies parked their vehicles without considering the problems being faced by other motorists.
“It takes almost 15 minutes to reach the designated bus stand from Pirwadhai Chowk due to illegal parking by the taxi drivers,” he said.
Wasiq Khan, another bus driver, said the haphazard parking of taxis in and around the bus terminal could cause accidents.
Muhammad Faizan, a cab driver, said they had permits to avail all roads and bus stops in the city to earn their livelihood.
He said it was the responsibility of the city authorities to provide a taxi stand to facilitate the transporters and public.
Haider Shah another cabbie, said in the absence of a taxi stand they had no option except to park taxies on the roads exposing themselves to dangers.
Another cabbie said on one hand, cab drivers were at the mercy of bus drivers, while on the other, the traffic police issued them tickets for parking vehicles on the road to pick up passengers.
Senior Superintendent of Traffic Police Dr. Moeen Masood said that the absence of a taxi stand at this terminal was creating problems not only for transporters but also for traffic police.
He said the ITP had brought it to the notice of city authorities but the issue still remains unresolved.