The citizens of Lahore and all those planning to visit the culturally rich provincial capital, have finally got something to look forward to for entertainment -- two tour buses that take them on a sightseeing tour around the historical monuments of the city.

And not just any tour buses, these are state-of-the-art, brand new double-decker buses that have the capacity for 65 passengers each, and are the kind frequently seen in popular tourist destinations around the world.

The buses come equipped with modern facilities such as free Wi-Fi, security cameras and central air conditioning. The LEDs inside the buses display Lahore’s landmarks as tourists are driven around to see 36 significant landmarks of the historical city. While the lower deck is air-conditioned, if passengers want to enjoy the fresh air as they explore the city, they can sit on the upper deck which can accommodate around 48 people.

The Sightseeing Tour is the first of its kind in Pakistan and is a collaborative project of the Punjab government and the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) and consists of two tailor-made Volvo buses imported from China for a sum of $376,000.

One of the main terminals of these buses (Terminal-I) is said to be at Punjab Stadium, Ferozepur Road, while the other (Terminal-II) will be created at Food Street, Fort Road.

"Initially, the project will start off with the two buses going from terminal to terminal but later on we want to provide a hop-on-hop-off facility so that the people can get off at two or three destinations to fully explore those places and board the bus later when it arrives," says MD Tourism Development Corporation Punjab, Ahmer Malik, talking to TNS.

Meanwhile, the hype on social media is a telling sign of how the project is going to be received by the local population. The first official tour of the bus shall take place on November 28 and there is already a lot of excitement on both Facebook and Twitter. Though, it will become clearer how the project is received by the public once it becomes operational.

However, given the number of the RSVPs on Facebook for the event created for the first official tour of the bus alone, a lot will depend on how the Sightseeing Lahore staff manages to handle queries and requests. A lot of people are bound to be disappointed merely for the fact that the buses will not be able to accommodate all of them at once.

"If there is a proper, clean bus--double-decker or otherwise -- which can show me around the city and help explore the historically important parts [of the city], I’d definitely take the ride," says Faraz Jehangir who has a keen interest in olden architecture. "I mean, this is a city where I’ve lived for the past 40 years, I still can’t claim to have seen it all."

Jehangir recalls "some double-decker buses here in Lahore in the 1970s. They had the novelty value attached to them. You could see them on the Mall Road. It’s nice to have them operating again."

This is true. In fact, double-deckers first made their appearance on the roads of Lahore back in 1950s. Those were Leyland Double Decker buses operated by the Lahore Omnibus Service (LOS). However, these buses became a part of history due to gradual decay and unavailability of spare parts; by the 1980s, these were completely out of sight. But not quite out of mind.

The news of the launch of the double-decker bus service, though this time around it is focused solely on sightseeing and tourism, has sparked nostalgia among those who had used or seen the red gigantic vehicles in Lahore in the past and sharing of anecdotes.

"I would often take the bus, in the ‘60s," says Aslam Khan, who has been living in Lahore for the last 68 years. "It was always very exciting. You paid a nominal fare, a few annas, to commute. And you could get a nice view, much like a bird’s eye view, of buildings on the way. It felt like we were floating above the road."

For some, the Sightseeing Tour seems like a good way to reconnect with Lahore’s past, as it has surely invoked fond memories and is tipped to create some new ones.

The official inauguration ceremony for the much awaited project is expected to happen sometime in the next week. Before that, trial runs have been conducted successfully, according to the TDCP.

"We have examined all routes that we intend to take, and there are no permanent hurdles," says MD Ahmer Malik, in response to a question about the compatibility of the buses with the existing physical infrastructure. "The specs of the buses are the same as others running in Lahore, in terms of width and axle spacing. If a tree trunk on the route requires a bit of trimming, we’ll get that done. Also, as far as the matter of illegal overhead cables is concerned, we took it up with the relevant authorities and the issue is now resolved. So the route is the same.

"All the pedestrian bridges are designed to be around 5.1m which is a little over 16.5ft; the buses would need around 13.5ft in height -- that, too, even if a passenger were to stand up. So, there is a cushion of about 2.5 ft," he adds.

Both the Lahoris and the tourists can expect the buses to officially take to the roads anytime next week. The TDCP believes that this would happen a day after the inauguration by the Chief Minister -- which is currently being worked on.

The fare (previously set at Rs300 per person, barring the disabled and senior citizens who would travel free of charge, and Rs150 per head for students) will be revised downwards.

A few trial runs have been conducted around Lahore and the results have been satisfactory thus far.