KARACHI: Sindh Transport Minister Syed Owais Shah has launched Pakistan’s first electric bus in the metropolis on Tuesday.
The buses will be brought to the port city with cooperation with the private sector. As many as 100 buses are expected to hit the roads by the end of this year. The air-conditioned buses initially will run from Sohrab Goth to Native Jetty Bridge. The initial rent has been fixed at Rs 10 per passenger.
Owais Qadir Shah said that 100 buses would be brought to make the project a success. The fare from one bus stop to another has been fixed at Rs 10. He said the fare will be Rs 4 per km, adding that the electric bus will run only from seat to seat and no one will be allowed to travel standing in it.
The provincial transport minister added that the Sapphire Group bus is a fully electric bus and the provincial government has planned to bring one or two buses on the road every month. Since 2017, not as much work has been done as it should have been.
“The PPP government in Karachi has done a good job in every field, BRT is also nearing completion. The purchase of 250 more buses is underway,” he said.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also congratulated the Sindh government over the initiative. “Want to congratulate Sindh government especially Murad Ali Shah and ministry of transport on their remarkable step to add electric bus in Karachi Commuters system,” he tweeted.
“The ministry is fully behind Sindh government in this futuristic approach hope Punjab and KP will also take the same route as soon as possible” he added.
Want to congratulate Sindh Govt specially @MuradAliShahPPP and ministry of transport on their remarkable step to add electric bus in Karachi Commuters system,@MinistryofST is fully behind Sind Govt in this futuristic approach hope Punjab and KP ll also take same route ASAP
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 30, 2021
Last year in December, the federal cabinet had approved Pakistan’s first Electric Vehicle Policy. The Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy and the Mobile Manufacturing Policy were endorsed by the federal cabinet following their approval by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on December 16.
