KARACHI:Karachiites will witness Green Line modern buses on the city roads from December 10 as the federal government is fully determined to launch the project as soon as possible, PPI learnt Sunday.
A ray of hope for modern green buses of Karachi’s residents shined as the first consignment of 40 buses for the Green Line bus rapid transit system (BRTS) reached the city on 19 September 2021 while the second batch of 40 buses arrived in the megalopolis very soon in October this year, paying a way for the launch of the long-awaited project envisaged and executed in February 2016 by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. After long delay that tormented citizens, the PTI government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, woke up and took interest after the passage of this year’s federal budget.
The green line buses are immediately required as the citizens are fed up with dilapidated transport of Karachi where anyone can hardly get seat to reach its destination. Karachi city is passing through an uncontrolled phase of rapid urbanization and motorization. The mitigation of transportation externalities requires a shift towards sustainable transportation system. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to provide relief to the citizens.
The Green Line is a bus rapid transit route in Karachi, which is 21 km long. It will have 22 stations (A station after every km). The green line will have a fleet of 80 buses operated by Daewoo. So far, 40 buses from China for the project have reached the Karachi Port.
The city’s present public transport system constitutes a small percentage of total vehicle fleet (4.5%) and serves about 42% of passenger demand yet not dedicated lanes or any other feasible traffic management solution has been provided as compared to private vehicles, which are roughly 36% of the total vehicular traffic but carry only 21% of passengers. The para-transit mode constitutes 10% of the vehicle fleet and carries 8% of passengers while contract carriages constitute 2% of the vehicle fleet but carry 10% of total passengers.