Green Line maiden bus hits the road in Karachi

KARACHI – Green Line Bus Rapid Transit service has started operations for the public today (Saturday) after almost six years since its groundbreaking in the country’s financial capital.

Reports in local media said around 25 out of 80 buses will shuttle between Surjani Town and Numaish Chowrangi while the fare of one side trip will range between Rs15 and Rs55.

Passengers faced difficulties due to improper arrangements at the bus stops on the first day of the launch, per reports.

Minister for Planning and Special Initiative Asad Umar shared a tweet saying that the first bus departed from Abdullah Chowk station with passengers. From today, the eleven stations will have a four-hour service from 8 to 12 o'clock in the morning, he wrote.

شہر قائد میں، قائد اعظم کی سالگرہ کے دن کراچی گرین لائن کمرشل آپریشن کا آغاز. پہلی بس مسافروں کے ساتھ عبداللہ چوک سٹیشن سے روانہ. آج سے گیارہ سٹیشن صبح 8 سے 12 بجے یعنی 4 گھنٹے کی سروس ہو گی. انشاءاللہ جیسے پہلے اعلان کیا گیا، 10 جنوری سے تمام سٹیشن صبح سے شام تک کام شروع کر دیں pic.twitter.com/HatHpMwKqq

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) December 25, 2021

The buses will stay on the roads for four hours from 8 am to noon in the first phase and the service will begin its full-fledged operations from January 10. The BRT buses are supposed to facilitate the travel of approximately 300,000 passengers daily.

The route of the much-awaited project is Surjani, New Karachi, KDA Chowrangi, Sakhi Hasan, North Nazimabad and Nazimabad and then Numaish however limited stations have been opened for the public as work on some of the stops and tracks is still underway.

Buses will have 40 seats and can accommodate 140 people at a time. It also has an adjustable ramp for wheelchair users and it offers Wi-Fi and charging ports for passengers. In wake of security conditions in the seaside metropolis, CCTV cameras have been installed for surveillance and monitoring.

Buses used for the mega project for Sindh capital are of Euro 3 standards which means that the emissions from the vehicles are limited. The hybrid vehicles will be run on batteries and diesel.

Deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif first inaugurated the Green Line Bus Rapid Transport System in 2017 but since then the project’s completion deadline has been extended so many times that the citizens would now believe only when they see the first bus plying on the track.

Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Karachi on December 10. The premier termed Karachi as Pakistan's engine of growth, saying that if Karachi prospers, then Pakistan will prosper.

Khan noted that the metropolis could not be transformed into a modern city until the removal of administrative flaws.