Punjab Metrobus Authority

About

Punjab Metrobus Authority

Created by the Government of Punjab, the Punjab Metrobus Authority is responsible for
providing a safe, efficient, and comfortable urban transportation system within the major cities of
Punjab. The management of the entire lifecycle of mass urban transportation projects, from
conception and construction to operation and maintenance falls under the authority’s mandate.

Challenge:

Lahore’s urban transportation congestion was increasingly becoming a challenge. To address this problem, the Lahore Urban Transportation Plan was devised with the assistance of international experts and consultants. The plan proposed 7 Bus Rapid Transit routes in Lahore to ease the congestion. Its pilot project was the 27 km “Metrobus System Line-1”, from Gajjumata to Shahdara, which was designed to be capable of moving over a million passengers on a weekly basis. The government wanted this complex public sector project to be spearheaded with the productivity, cost-efficiency, and quality associated with the private sector. As a result, they agreed on taking responsibility for the procurement of equipment, but the solution design and operations were to be outsourced to a private sector company, i.e. Inbox Business Technologies.

Solution:

Inbox’s solution, unanimously accepted by all stakeholders, was two-pronged; Technology and Operations.“Technology” comprised of 3 parts:AFC – BSS – VLS.

Automated Fare Collection: A system incorporating the use of reusable smart cards or one-time tokens for fare payment, which could be recharged or issued from ticketing booths via PDAs and ticket vending machines.
Bus Scheduling System: An efficient, agile approach to managing weekly or seasonal
passenger spikes by offering easy scheduling.
Vehicle Location System: Created operational efficiencies and accountability for the bus
operator, as it measured mileage and archived location information effectively, down to
the bus per route level.

On the other hand, “Operations” focused on managing ticketing and cash management operations that fulfilled the Government of Punjab’s requirements for enhanced customer experience. Furthermore, this solution also limited cash exposure, since passengers were required to pay upfront for the tickets.
Inbox also devised a way of using its own cash flow to limit the exposure of the government but in a predictable, efficient manner that minimized its own risk.

Impact:

Instead of paying PKR 40-50, and traveling for 90 minutes in an unpleasant environment, the typical customer now pays PKR 20, enjoys an air-conditioned bus, and reaches in as short a duration as 25-40 minutes. On-ground Booth operators and facilitators address complaints and queries in real-time, which was made possible due to the state-of-the-art capital and technology-enabled processes that Inbox implemented. With a more efficient public transport system, the city is witnessing lessened urban congestion, even for those traveling by car. While overall economic impact assessments are still undergoing, it is quite clear that the Metrobus project is contributing to the exchequer and economy, both, directly and indirectly, by enabling rapid mobility of human talent. Since the implementation of the Metrobus project, operations run efficiently 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. As a result, the citizens of Lahore now have access to reliable urban transportation of the highest caliber. Customer satisfaction is amongst the highest of any major citizen service in Punjab; a province that on its own would be the 12th largest country in the world.

Technical support for 30,000 mission critical employees entrusted to Inbox, covering 389 sites across the country

Inbox spearheads and implements smart number plates creation for Punjab, and develops IT- based, best-in-class supply chain.

Inbox provides support services with certainty, amidst an extensive array of geographically diverse sites, covering 949 sites