Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has inaugurated Islamabad’s electric bus depot and charging center, and announced that the electric bus service will be extended to Rawat.
Naqvi also took a ride on an electric bus along with relevant officials and received a briefing on the depot’s operations and charging facilities. He congratulated the team on completing the project.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Interior Minister said around 125,000 commuters in Islamabad are using the electric buses daily. He added that the target is to increase daily ridership to 250,000.
He said routes have been planned with special attention to the commuting needs of male and female students.
Naqvi said the electric bus service, along with the metro, is helping reduce traffic pressure in the city. He also announced that the Rawalpindi–Islamabad railway service is being restored.
He further stated that Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) will begin local manufacturing of electric buses in Pakistan.
Officials briefed him that the depot has capacity for 64 chargers, with 50 already installed and 14 more to be added soon. They said each charger can charge two buses in about two hours.
Currently, electric buses are operating on 21 routes in Islamabad, and the project has been integrated with Google.
The event was attended by the Chief Commissioner Islamabad, IG Islamabad Police, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, and other senior officials.