30 hybrid, 50 electric buses added to Karachi fleet

Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday launched another 80 buses of the Peoples Bus Service fleet in Karachi at a simple ceremony at the Mazar-e-Quaid.

The new buses include 30 hybrid and 50 electric vehicles. With the addition of 80 new buses, the city's bus fleet now comprised 300 buses, including 18 Pink Buses for woman passengers, said the interim CM as he spoke at the ceremony. Home Minister Brig (retd) Haris Nawaz, Education Minister Dr Rana Hussain and Information Minister Ahmad Shah were also present on the occasion.

Justice (retd) Baqar said that as of the mid-2015, there were 3.6 million registered vehicles in Karachi, which was over 30 per cent of the national total. Private vehicles, mainly motorcycles and cars, made up about 84 per cent of the total number of registered vehicles, he added.

He stated that the growth rate for private vehicles in Karachi was over four per cent, which meant that there were now over 1,000 new vehicles being added to the streets of Karachi each day.

Justice (retd) Baqar pointed out that there were more than 12,000 public vehicles, including buses, minibuses, and coaches, operating on 267 routes in the city. However, the number of buses had been declining steadily. He emphasised that a city as big as Karachi should have at least 15,000 modern buses.

Owing to the lack of intra-city public transport, the Sindh government and National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation signed an agreement in October 2021 for the supply, operation, and construction of the Sindh Intra-District Peoples Bus Service project, said the CM.

He added that the project was a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between the Sindh government and NRTC. It was launched in June 2022 and was the first-ever intra-city public transport project operating in mixed traffic, especially in Karachi and other cities of Sindh such as Larkana, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

The ceremony was told that the project was basically for the public and was to be operated through the public-private partnership. It was designed to integrate state-of-the-art bus operations model consisting of high-quality diesel hybrid bus service to meet the increasing urban transport demand in major cities.

Briefing the CM, Sindh Transport Secretary Asad Zamin said that currently, 204 buses of 12 metres and 9 metres were operating on 11 routes in Karachi, while six buses were operating in Larkana, 12 on two routes in Hyderabad, and 10 in Sukkur.

He said the operations of the first women-exclusive Public Service were already continuing in the city with nine pink buses on R-01, and another nine pink buses on R-02.

The Telephone Industry of Pakistan (TIP), a subsidiary of the NRTC, had already engaged in a flagship project with the Sindh government, submitted a proposal through its international partners to develop an eco-friendly electric vehicle System in the province.

The CM was told that the initiative was based on the ‘rent-to-own model’, under which the Sindh government would pay nominal lease payments including the operational and capital costs for eight years. After completion of the lease period, the buses would be handed over to the provincial government.

Justice (retd) Baqar said Karachi had acute commercial transportation woes and clean transportation was aligned with the policies of the government. He acknowledged that the proposal has been negotiated with sound terms and due diligence. He directed the provincial transport department to work out a robust contractual framework with the TIP to ensure maximum utilisation of buses for public benefit.

He emphasised that the key performance indicators should ensure proper maintenance of buses throughout the eight years of the buyback period. Earlier, the CM cut the ribbon to inaugurate 30 hybrid and 50 electric buses and then had a tour on one of those buses.