Farah city residents demand public bus and taxi services

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Residents of western Farah province say no taxi or public transport services are available in Farah city, the provincial capital, and people are facing problems.
Mohammad Younis Sapand, a resident and civil society activist in Panjali village, says: “Unfortunately, Farah still does not have national bus service and taxis, if someone wants to go from one area of the city to another, without personal conveyance, he has to hire a rickshaw.”
He added there were no taxi services for people up to Bagh Pul or Dehak areas, which were five kilometers away from the city center.
He said: “Taxis and buses are not available for students to reach the Farah University which is located 15km from the city.”
He urged the government to provide public transport service in the city to make it easier for people to commute from one place to another.
Marzia Farahi, a resident of Farah city, also considered urban taxi services important and said the city was crowded so the Transport Department should provide them with facilities to travel.
She said: “Farah City lacks many facilities including taxis and its residents only travel in three-wheelers and if taxi services are provided, it will be better.”
Mohammad Naseem, a student of Education Faculty of Farah University, said the lack of taxi services in the city had created many problems for students.
He said the university was far from the city there were no taxi services due to which students could not reach their classes on time.
He added: “The university is 15km away from the city amid no regular taxi services and students often cannot reach classes on time.”
He urged the department of transport to provide taxi services in the whole city, especially on the university route.
Balkh Transport Department officicals acknowledge the problem and say that they are planning to start taxi service in the city soon.
Maulvi Hikmatullah Sobhani Agha, director of the department, told Pajhwok some time ago they provided a coaster car services for the university, the provincial hospital and brigade areas, but the service had to be stopped due to lack of passengers.
He added: “We have plan to start taxi service in central areas of Farah such as Bagh Pul, Provincial Hospital, University and villages and areas near the city and we have also discussed this issue with the private sector.”