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Showing posts from March, 2021

Road safety and the race to being 'right-on-time'

I preferred travelling 400 miles from Islamabad to my village in DG Khan by car. The journey took around 12 hours when there were no motorways. Now it takes more like 8 hours. We used to do it in daytime for safety and better visibility. Roads were narrow, with lots of potholes and incoming traffic including carts, motorbikes and bicycles.  Sometimes, it was convenient to take a bus which usually ran in the night. Daewoo buses were thought of as a better service because, for the first time in Pakistan, they introduced a ‘hostess’ onboard who offered you a cold drinks and snacks. Some passengers saw them as a source of entertainment, starring at at them for timepass, or trying to be unduly friendly by offering their phone numbers or soliciting unwanted conversations. Others asked for many cup of coke or water just to make themselves feel pampered by a young lady. Some passenger even touched and groped them as they went past their seats in the aisle - yes that is sickening!  The...