After more than six decades, double-deckers are back on Karachi’s streets

Dubai: Double-decker buses have returned to Karachi after more than six decades, marking a significant moment for public transport in Pakistan’s largest city as authorities seek to ease chronic mobility problems for its growing population.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Wednesday inaugurated the new bus service, announcing that the buses would be available to the public from January 1, following test runs on city roads a day earlier, Dawn reported.

Officials said the service marks the reintroduction of double-decker buses to Karachi for the first time in around 65 years.

“Today marks the beginning of double-decker bus services in the city. They will be available to the public from tomorrow, and today they are being tested on Karachi’s roads,” Memon said while speaking to the media at the launch ceremony. The service was inaugurated alongside Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

The launch fulfils a commitment made by the Sindh government in October 2024, when it announced plans to bring double-decker buses back to the city of more than 23 million people, long plagued by traffic congestion and inadequate public transport.

Memon noted that the government had promised to introduce the buses by December 2025, pointing out that the launch on December 31 met that deadline.

Initially, the buses will operate on select routes. Memon said services would run between Malir and Shahrah-e-Faisal, while his spokesperson Hussain Mansoor told Dawn that another route would operate between Zainab Market in Saddar and Model Colony.

More buses will be added in phases, he said, with the aim of easing pressure on Karachi’s overcrowded roads.

According to an official handout from Memon’s office, the double-decker service is being introduced “again for Karachiites after 65 years”, reviving a mode of transport last seen in the city during the mid-20th century.

Looking ahead, Memon said the provincial government plans to expand transport facilities across Sindh in 2026, adding that Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed officials to introduce double-decker buses on “every road in Karachi” in the coming year. He also announced that new routes for electric buses would be designated across Sindh, including Karachi, from next week.

Emphasising that public transport is a necessity, Memon said the services were being offered at subsidised rates, with the provincial government covering the cost. More than 125,000 commuters currently use transport services under the People’s Bus Service project in Karachi every day, he added.

Responding to criticism over poor road conditions, the minister said the Sindh cabinet had allocated over Rs9 billion for road development in industrial areas, while work was under way on major infrastructure projects, including the Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway.

In a separate statement, the Sindh Chief Minister’s Office described the double-decker buses as “a gift” for Karachiites. CM Murad said improved transport would make commuting easier and help Karachi move closer to the standards of modern global cities.