Karachi to Begin People’s Bus Service Test Runs This Week

Sindh government will start test runs of the People’s Bus Service on June 3, Sharjeel Memon announced earlier today. The provincial government has procured 140 buses that will run under the People’s Bus Service banner, Memon highlighted.

Once the testing is complete, the Sindh government will roll out the service within weeks. It also plans to add 100 more buses to the current fleet, which will arrive by June 20.

The buses will operate on 6 routes including:

• North Karachi to Indus Hospital (Korangi) spanning 32.9 km.
• Nagan Chowrangi to Singer Chowrangi (Korangi Industrial Area) spanning 33 km.
• North Karachi to Dockyard spanning 30.4 km.
• Surjani Town to PAF Masroor spanning 28.2 km.
• Gulshan-i-Bihar (Orangi Town) to Singer Chowrangi spanning 29 km.
• Mosamiyat to Baldia Town spanning 28.9 km.

Memon highlighted:

We need to run the buses at least 1,000 kilometres without load of passengers. Once that is done, we will then carry out a mock operation. It will not be a commercial operation and we will pass these buses under another test run with the maximum load capacity. It would help us detect any problem or a flaw needed to be fixed before the commercial launch.

Memon added that, although the People’s Bus Service is different from the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects, it will be just as beneficial for the public.