Lahore is a city that breathes in centuries and exhales in chaos. Its arteries are clogged with rickshaws, its lungs filled with the scent of sizzling kebabs and diesel fumes. For a student—especially one new to its sprawling, energetic embrace—the city can feel like a magnificent, overwhelming labyrinth.
Amidst this vibrant chaos, a quiet, modern ecosystem has emerged. It’s not advertised on billboards or shouted from minarets. It lives in WhatsApp groups, discreet social media circles, and the hushed conversations between lectures. They call it the “Student Escorts Service in Lahore” But to label it merely a taxi service is to mistake a symphony for a single note.
It began not as a business, but as a necessity. Amani, a third-year architecture student from Quetta, remembers her first week. “The university sent a pamphlet on ‘safe travel.’ It was a list of ‘don’ts.’ Don’t travel alone after dark. Don’t use unregistered rickshaws. Don’t wear flashy jewelry. It felt like they were giving me a list of ways to hide. I didn’t come to Lahore to hide; I came to discover it.”
Discovery came in the form of Faisal, a senior at her university. He wasn’t a professional driver; he was a student with a beat-up Suzuki Mehran and a meticulous schedule. For a nominal sum that covered his petrol and a bit of his own tuition, he offered “secured rides” to and from the university, the library, and even weekend trips to the old city for a group of female students from his department.
It was an organic, grassroots solution to a very real urban problem. The “service” was born from a simple equation: trusted driver + verified student = safe passage.
The model evolved. Faisal’s Mehran became a mobile sanctuary. The cracked leather seats held not just passengers, but confidences. The tinny speakers played Coke Studio anthems that scored debates on political science, heartbreaks, and the best chai spot in Liberty Market. The car was a bubble of normalcy in a city where the simple act of getting from point A to point B could be a gauntlet of unwanted attention and anxiety.
The escorts themselves are a unique breed. They are part navigator, part bodyguard, and entirely confidant. Kamran, a psychology major who drives for three hours each evening, sees it as practical fieldwork.
