Powered by China-made buses, the Pakistani Sindh provincial government has decided to make the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project operational within a month for Karachiites.
The decision was made in a session of Sindh Mass Transit Authority chaired by the provincial transport minister Sharjeel Memon on Friday afternoon in which the concerned officials gave briefings on the mass transit projects.
It was told that the already operational Green Line BRT was a federal government project which will be handed over to the Sindh government after three years of operations. The Green Line service is also using Chinese fuel efficient buses.
The officials apprised the meeting that Orange Line BRT is Sindh government’s project and the funds for the procurement of 20 buses were disbursed to Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (SIDCL).
Sharjeel Memon directed the concerned officials to make the Orange Line BRT operational within a month. The bus service will provide comfortable transport services to the citizens of Orangi Town and its adjoining areas.
In February, the federal government’s Karachi’s Green Line BRT completed one-month operations and according to official figures, more than one million passengers had travelled on 80 buses through the dedicated corridor.
According to official figures provided by Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (SIDCL), a total of 1,093,000 passengers travelled on Green Line BRT without any break from January 10 to February 9.
The official data had shown that on average 35,000 people commuted on 80 buses of the BRT project on weekdays and the number sometimes swelled to 50,000 during weekends.
The Green Line bus service had become fully operational from January 10 this year with 80 buses covering a track of 21 kilometres from 6 in the morning till 10 at night. The buses arrive at the station every three minutes.
