The Sindh government has announced that double-decker and new electric buses will become operational on Karachi’s roads from next week, part of a wider initiative to expand public transportation services across the province.
According to official information today, the decision was formalized during a high-level meeting of the Transport and Mass Transit Department, chaired by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who also holds the portfolio for Information, Transport and Mass Transit.
During the session, officials provided briefings on the progress of significant infrastructure undertakings, including the Yellow Line and Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects. Plans for an upcoming electric vehicle (EV) taxi service and the second phase of the Pink Scooties scheme were also discussed.
Minister Memon stated his expectation for the new fleet of buses to arrive in the city within the coming week and confirmed that new routes are currently being prepared. He further revealed the administration”s plan to launch the EV taxi service by December and to procure an additional five hundred buses for the public fleet during the current financial year.
The minister instructed officials to finalize all operational preparations for the new bus routes and to commence training for women and female students for the Scooties scheme at all divisional headquarters. He also directed them to accelerate work on the Yellow Line BRT by completing depots and ensuring timely utility transfers to maintain the project”s momentum.
Attendees at the meeting included Secretary Transport Asad Zamin, Sindh Mass Transit Authority MD Kanwal Nizam Bhutto, Trans Karachi CEO Fawad Ghaffar Soomro, and Yellow Line BRT Project Director Zameer Abbasi.
In a related development, Mr. Memon announced that two-way traffic on the Taj Haider Bridge has commenced from today and that construction on the second part of the bridge will begin soon.