Millions of dollars have been wasted as majority of the highly-expensive imported electric buses of the Karachi Electric Bus Service have been grounded, reported Express Tribune.
According to the national daily, only 15 out of the total 40 electric buses are operational while others have been grounded due to technical reasons.
It is important to note that 40 electric buses were imported at a total cost of $180 million. However, at the moment, 15 are operational on just 1 of the 3 designated routes.
It is pertinent to mention that the buses were imported at a time when Pakistan was on the verge of default. The bus service was launched in January this year, and in under a year, it has proven to be a significant misuse of taxpayers’ funds. Last month, charging problems forced the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) to temporarily suspend the operation of some of the buses.
The Managing Director of SMTA had stated that the buses weren’t getting sufficient charge. However, the recent report indicates that things are far worse than what the SMTA had asserted.
Talking to the national daily, prominent political figure of Karachi, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, said that the former provincial government imported buses without carrying out a feasibility report. He added that “such expensive buses are not meant for the port city’s roads.”
Managing Director of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority, Kamal Hakim Dayo, told the media outlet that they plan to introduce more electric buses in the future as it was just a pilot project. He revealed that the grounded buses will be made operational soon.
Government officers are enjoying foreign trips on the name of buying, inspection and further training. Pakistan can never be self reliant as foreign trips are more important than local production of buses.