Green Line Bus service set to become fully operational

• News By : Web Desk
• 2022-01-10 08:45:23

KARACHI: 10, JANUARY, 2022: The much-awaited recently inaugurated Karachi's Green Line Rapid Bus Transit Project has been launched with full commercial operation from today (Monday).
As per details, 80 buses will cover a track of 21 kilometers from 7 in the morning till 10 at night and the fare of one trip will range between Rs15 and Rs55.
The 18-meter-long buses have 40 seats and can accommodate 150 people at a time. The bus has also an adjustable ramp for wheelchair users.
The imported vehicles are of Euro 3 standards which means that the carbon monoxide emissions from the buses are reduced.
The official sources told that the delay in the installation of escalators is due to delays in import services and the work will be completed as soon as the machinery is received.
The bus service will start from KESC Powerhouse Chowrangi in Surjani Town and terminate at Municipal park after passing through Nagan Chowrangi, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad and Gurumandir, with 25 stations along its route. The bus service will cater to 300,000 passengers on a daily basis. The 80 buses will be operated by 200 drivers who have completed their training.
Around 22 stations between Surjani Town and Numaish Chowrangi have been completed. Another three stations to extend the service to Municipal Park are yet to be constructed.
It is pertinent to mention here that, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Green Line Bus service in Karachi on December 10. A day before formal inauguration of the project, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar while talking to media along with Governor Sindh Dr Imran Ismail in Karachi said that arrangements have been finalized for the inauguration of Green Line Bus by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The operation on trial basis will begin from December 11 to 24, however, the commercial operations will start from December 25 and from January 10 onward the full scale operation would be commenced, he informed.
The minister said that "There was only the track but no operation plan, buses procurement policy and business execution in place," adding that, "It was in May 2020 when the federal government finally decided to not only complete the project but also make it functional. So despite the delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the project has been completed and Prime Minister Imran Khan is going to inaugurate it tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Governor Sindh Dr Imran Ismail said that the PPP government in Sindh has not provided a single bus to Karachi in the past 13 years.
On the occasion, the minister Asad Umar further informed that 40 BRT buses will be arriving from China in March to facilitate mega city at earliest.
He said "Through K-IV project, we aim to supply 260 million gallons of water to Karachi and by August or September 2023, the project will be completed."
"Fifty percent work on the other two drains, Orangi and Gujjar, has been completed and they will be inaugurated before summer next year," he added. (04)

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