{"id":30361,"date":"2026-07-20T07:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=30361"},"modified":"2026-07-20T07:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:14:42","slug":"public-transport-challenges-rising-commuting-costs-and-lost-time-for-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/07\/public-transport-challenges-rising-commuting-costs-and-lost-time-for-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Public transport challenges; rising commuting costs and lost time for youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of students and employed youth in Kabul who use public transportation to commute to educational centers and workplaces complain about the shortage of an organized public transport system. They say this issue has caused them to face various challenges. In interviews with Salam Watandar, they called on the Islamic Emirate to address the problems in the city’s public transportation system.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marjan, a 28-year-old employed young woman, says the shortage of public transport vehicles has allowed drivers to charge higher fares for going to work.<\/p>\n

“To go to my workplace, I have to wait 15 to 20 minutes, and sometimes even 40 minutes, for a vehicle. If I sit in the front seat, I have to pay the fare for two people. Taking a taxi costs around 70 to 80 Afghanis. I want the public transport system to improve,” she says.<\/p>\n

Maryam Bahari, a nurse at one of the hospitals, says she faces challenges every day getting to work on time because of the existing transportation problems.<\/p>\n

“The fares are high, and there are no proper vehicles. It takes a long time to get to work. This creates many problems for us. If the fares were lower, it would be much better. Some days, when I don’t have enough money, I have to walk a lot,” she says.<\/p>\n

Hadia Hassanzada, a 20-year-old student, calls on the Islamic Emirate to take practical and immediate steps to address these challenges.<\/p>\n

“Every day, I travel a long distance from home to the educational center. As you know, our financial situation is not good, and the cost of transportation places an additional burden on my family. We ask the authorities to improve the roads and establish an organized and affordable public transport system to make commuting easier,” she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bashir Ahmad, a 27-year-old man who travels every day from Kabul International Airport to Shahr-e-Naw, also says,<\/p>\n

“My salary is very low, and every day I have to spend a large portion of it on transportation. Vehicle fares are high, there is not enough urban public transport, and on the other hand, I am facing financial difficulties.”<\/p>\n

Shoaib Ahmadi, a sociologist, says the existing problems in urban transportation not only make commuting difficult but also waste time and increase the financial pressure on citizens, especially youth.<\/p>\n

“In today’s era, time management and making good use of opportunities are especially important for the younger generation. Fulfilling responsibilities on time contributes to personal and social development and creates opportunities for progress. By avoiding wasted time, youth can make better use of educational opportunities, become productive members of society, and build a successful future,” he adds.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, officials at the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, referring to the presence of thousands of passenger vehicles in Kabul city, say that continuous monitoring is underway to improve the urban public transport system.<\/p>\n

Hekmatullah Asefi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, told Salam<\/span> <\/em>Watandar<\/span><\/em>,<\/p>\n

“Nearly 5,000 passenger vehicles operate in Kabul. To regulate transport services, operating licenses are issued to vehicles, and their activities are continuously monitored. Currently, passenger transport services are regulated according to the applicable laws and regulations.”<\/p>\n

Establishing an organized public transportation system could reduce commuting costs, save time, and make travel easier for citizens, helping to address existing commuting challenges.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Atefa Malekzada<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A number of students and employed youth in Kabul who use public transportation to commute to educational centers and workplaces complain about the shortage of an organized public transport system. They say this issue has caused them to face various challenges. In interviews with Salam Watandar, they called on the Islamic Emirate to address the problems in the city’s public transportation system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,9,16],"tags":[120,2042,2043,2044,2045],"class_list":["post-30361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-soceity","category-report","tag-youth","tag-public-transport-challenges","tag-public-transport","tag-lost-time","tag-rising-commuting-costs"],"views":16,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30364,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30361\/revisions\/30364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}