Chaos at Motorway M2 Exit: Commuters Stranded Over an Hour

ISLAMABAD: A massive traffic jam ensued on Sunday evening at the Islamabad exit of the M2 Motorway as thousands of vehicles returning from the Raiwind Ijtema attempted to pass through the Good Balance automated toll exit without M-Tag stickers, causing a complete standstill for over an hour. The incident left regular commuters and other vehicles stranded, with frustrations running high as efforts to clear the congestion were delayed.

The congestion began as coasters carrying participants of the annual Raiwind congregation entered the toll gates meant for M-Tag users. The tolls, designed to operate without attendants, were unprepared for the influx of vehicles lacking the required tags, which caused the automated system to fail.

According to witnesses on the scene, coasters and buses were seen overspeeding on the motorway, even occupying fast lanes, leading to additional challenges for regular traffic flow.

As vehicles neared the exit, many entered the express lanes despite not meeting the requirements, creating further bottlenecks. The Motorway Police, present at the toll gates, struggled to manage the chaos due to the lack of manual intervention options at the automated toll stations. When approached for comment, a motorway police officer said, “One Network staff is working on it; for some reason, the system went down.”

After approximately an hour, system technicians were able to restore the toll gates, allowing the backlog of commuters to pass through. Nonetheless, the incident has raised concerns over the efficacy of the fully automated toll systems and the need for better management and enforcement during high-traffic events.

Many commuters expressed frustration with the motorway’s handling of the situation, emphasizing that such bottlenecks and overspeeding in the wrong lanes could have been prevented with adequate planning and enforcement.