Karachi to get new double-decker and electric buses next month as Sindh plans new routes

Karachi will get another fleet of double-decker and electric buses next month, and the Sindh government has told officials to finish arrangements for the new routes they will run on, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said after a review meeting on Wednesday, ProPakistani reported. The number of buses, the routes and the fares have not been announced yet.

What the meeting decided

Memon, who holds the transport portfolio, chaired the meeting with Transport Secretary Asad Zamin, Trans Karachi chief executive Zubair Channa, Yellow Line project director Kamal Dayo and Sindh Mass Transit Authority managing director Behzad Memon. Officials briefed him on:

• progress on construction of the Red Line and Yellow Line Bus Rapid Transit corridors;
• plans to integrate the BRT lines so passengers can change between them;
• finalising routes for the incoming double-decker and electric buses.

Memon said building BRT corridors is not enough on its own without links between routes, and that connecting the lines would make travel easier for Karachiites.

What it means for commuters

Karachi already runs the Green Line BRT, the People's Bus Service and electric bus routes, but large parts of the city still depend on crowded private minibuses and chinchis. More buses on new routes should cut waiting times on the corridors they serve; which neighbourhoods get them is the detail to watch when the routes are announced. Construction work on the Red Line along University Road has disrupted traffic for months, so any date for its completion will matter to anyone who drives that stretch.

If you are weighing the bus against your own car or bike, our fuel cost calculator shows what a daily commute costs at today's petrol price. We will add the routes and fares when Sindh announces them.