LAHORE: Once again the fear of strong public reaction has stopped the Punjab government from increasing the fare of metro bus service in Lahore and Rawalpindi which, insiders say, is proving burdensome because of the huge funds required annually to provide the subsidized service.

The bus service was launched by former Shahbaz Sharif government first in Lahore and afterwards in Rawalpindi and Multan for providing low fare modern air-conditioned bus service to people.

Projects are often criticised for the billions of rupees spent on making exclusive tracks, buses and other allied facilities in the three cities.

The Sharif government was paying huge subsidy for the projects to keep the fare low but the present set up in the very outset found the burden unbearable in view of the poor economic condition of the province.

Insiders told Dawn on Wednesday that the decision to defer a decision on the reduction in the fare in Lahore and Rawalpindi was taken by the provincial standing committee of the cabinet on finance and development in its recent meeting.

The proposal was submitted by the transport secretary who maintained that in order to reduce the subsidy on metro bus systems it was necessary to upward revise in the flat fare which was Rs20 per single ride.

He proposed that the fare be increased from the current Rs20 to Rs30 for the bus service in Lahore and Rawalpindi, recommending that the fare in Multan should not be changed.

The decision was deferred after the industries minister said that the upward revision at once will create a negative political impact on the PTl government. If at all necessary, the subsidy on the fare should be withdrawn in phased manner, officials quoted him as advising the cabinet committee.

Officials said that the fear of public backlash looked more burdensome than the financial impact of running the Shahbaz era low cost bus service. `Let us see what happens,` an official said.