Newcomer Guide

Topic 5 of 14

Getting around the city

Ride apps, the Metro, rickshaws, and the sector grid

Islamabad is a planned grid of lettered sectors — F-6, G-9, and so on. Once you can read an address like 'F-7/2', you can navigate the whole city: letter = row, number = column, the digit after the slash = the quarter of that sector. Each sector has a commercial center called a markaz.

  1. 1Default mode: ride apps (see the Rides section for the honest comparison).
  2. 2The Metrobus runs a dedicated corridor between Islamabad and Rawalpindi — dirt cheap, surprisingly good, card-based.
  3. 3Rickshaws exist mostly on the Rawalpindi side and outer sectors — agree the price BEFORE you get in, always.
  4. 4Walking is pleasant inside sectors (green, calm); crossing the huge avenues between sectors is not — ride across.
The rickshaw script: ask "kitnay ka?" (how much?), counter at about half, settle in the middle. Smile the whole time — it's a game, not a fight.
At night, prefer app rides over street taxis — the GPS trail and driver identity are your safety net.
Next upIntercity travel