The inauguration of the Orange Line is likely to be held next month. The project is expected to solve the decades-old transport problem for Karachiites. The Peoples Bus Service project will begin its test run on June 3 on one of the seven proposed routes in the metropolis.
After the successful testing, proper commercial operation of the Sindh government-controlled bus service will start within the next few weeks, which will pave the way for 100 more new air-conditioned buses to be arrived by June 20 from China, to ply on city roads.
With the arrival of 140 new buses by different cargoes from China, their newly-recruited staff members are now ready at government facilities for the official nod, which have made all arrangements and are set to bring the buses on roads.
The Sindh government Peoples’ Bus Service is a project separate from the network of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines.
“We are going to start the test run of these city buses and for that purpose, we have decided to ply them on Route No 1,” Sindh Minister for Information, Transport, and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon told the media.
“Under the Peoples’ Bus Service project, the Sindh government is set to play 240 buses on seven different routes. All arrangements have been made with buses and the staffers are already there, the automated ticketing system is in place and ground infrastructure on all seven routes is almost ready.
“After the test run on the first route, which covers the 29.5-km area from Model Colony to Tower, you will see the same exercise on all other six other routes. It would turn around Karachi’s transport problem,” he said.
The other six routes include the areas from North Karachi to Indus Hospital [Korangi] distance of 32.9-km; Nagan Chowrangi to Singer Chowrangi [Korangi Industrial Area] 33-km; North Karachi to Dockyard 30.4-km; Surjani Town to PAF Masroor 28.2-km; Gulshan-i-Bihar [Orangi Town] to Singer Chowrangi 29km and Mosamiyat to Baldia Town 28.9-km.
After the test run, the minister said that the buses would start service on the first route within a couple of weeks.
“We need to run the buses at least 1,000 kilometres without the load of passengers,” said Memon. “Once this is done for 240-buses on different routes one by one, we will then carry out a mock operation. It would not be a commercial operation and we would pass these buses under another test run with the maximum load capacity. It would help us detect any problem or a flaw that needed to be fixed before the commercial launch,” he said.
