ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project on the coming Friday (December 10), Planning Minister Asad Umar announced on Sunday. The Green Line BRT would be Karachi’s ‘first modern transport system,’ he said in a statement.

A few days back, the planning minister had announced that the Green Line BRT would start its commercial operations from December 25. Under this mega project, the federal government has procured 80 buses –as part of the plan to offer affordable public transport to the residents of Karachi.

Half or 40 of these buses arrived in Karachi in September this year and remaining 40 business in October. It is estimated that the bus service would facilitate some 300,000 passengers daily.

Green Line project: 40 more buses reach Karachi from China

Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif had performed the groundbreaking of nearly Rs 17 billion worth project that was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017 but it got delayed for several times. Reports suggest that the 18-metre-long Green Line buses have 40 seats and can accommodate 140 people at a time. The imported vehicles are of Euro 3 standard, which means that the carbon monoxide emissions from the buses would be lower.

The hybrid vehicles will be run on batteries and diesel. They have a special ramp for people with disabilities and the seats installed in them have dual space. The city’s Green Line BRT project is a 24-km long route which consists of 25 stations.

“Karachi city is passing through an uncontrolled phase of rapid urbanisation and motorisation. The mitigation of transportation externalities requires a shift towards sustainable transportation system,” says an official statement.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021