Long Awaited Green Line Buses Received in Karachi

A sigh of relief for the battered Karachiites as the first consignment of long-awaited and much-needed 40 green line buses reached Karachi on Sunday. People of the provincial capital waited for more than five years for the day when the Bus Rapid Transit Metro bus finally touches the land of the most populous city of the country. The 24 billion projects funded by the federal government started in February 2016, were to be completed in two years, but the work on the Green Line BRT lingered on until a cargo ship carrying forty metro buses arrived in the port city on Sunday.

Federal Minister for planning and development Asad Umer said that another consignment of 40 buses would reach Karachi next month and the 80 buses would be fully operational on the road by the st end of November. The people of the city not only waited long for the actualization of the project but also faced many difficulties owing to the delayed work. The construction work on the roads with dug holes and dust and smoke not only created problems in traveling but also caused hygienic and health issues. There has also been a great loss to the business along the 26 km stretch of the specified road.

The federal minister said that the Green Line project is one of the most modern Metro bus projects in Pakistan. He also disclosed that the Greenline project will be followed some other mega projects like the Karachi Circular Railway plan that would be approved by ECNEC in the upcoming meeting and that the Prime Minister would himself inaugurate it soon. The minister said that the people of Karachi would continue to hear good news in the next few weeks as the city has its strength in the federal government as well as a major share in the govt revenue.
The buses in the fleet are comfortable, air-conditioned, and have digital screens. The fleet will be environment friendly with low consumption of fuel. In 2016 the project was inaugurated by the then prime minister Nawaz sharif at an estimated cost of Rs 16.85 billion but later addition of 10 kilometers in the system increased the cost to 24 billion. the drivers of the buses would undergo proper training under the supervision of Chinese instructors and the buses will also remain under observation and trial before being operational by the end of November this year.