Karachi: A fleet of 40 state-of-the-art buses has arrived at the Karachi’s Port from China for the Green Line section of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) to be launched as the first mass transit service of the city.
The Green Line bus corridor is a federally funded project completed with a cost of Rs27 billion.
A ceremony was held at the Karachi Port to receive the buses in the presence of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, IT Minister Aminul Haq, Maritime Affairs’ Minister Ali Zaidi.
Asad Umar said the Green Line bus project would become operational by the end of November this year.
He said the bus service would run on a 22-kilometre corridor within the city to benefit daily commuting by 1,35,000 passengers. There will be 22 stations for the Green Line section as a Command and Control System has been established to manage the service.
He said the federal government had been working on five major development projects for the city as the part of the Karachi Transformation Plan.
He said the next meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee of the federal cabinet would accord approval to the proposed project to revive Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) service in the city that is going to be an even bigger and more modern mass transit system in the city than the Green Line service.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would perform the groundbreaking for the KCR project.
Umar said the federal government had been doing its best to ensure development of Karachi while considering its importance as the city that contributes most to Pakistan’s revenue collection drive.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said that launch of the Green Line bus service would go a long way in providing most modern and comfortable intra-city transport services to the people of Karachi.
Some 200 drivers will be given special training to operate the Green Line buses. Women candidates will also be encouraged to apply for the driver job.
