QUETTA: The provincial government in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province on Monday launched its first ever 'Green Bus Service' in the capital, Quetta, to provide commuting services to citizens deprived of quality transport in the city.
Presently, there are approximately 550 local transport buses that cover 15 different routes in Quetta and cater to thousands of commuters on a daily basis. According to the All Mutahida Bus Association Quetta, every four to 10 minutes, a local bus travels through different routes in the city, which has a population of 2.8 million. However, these buses are mostly old and unfit for travel.
Pakistan's Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have implemented similar plans by introducing metro bus services in the populated cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Multan. This project is the first-of-its kind not only for Quetta but for Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province by size.
"Initially we have started the luxury bus service with eight fleets, but we will purchase 20 more buses to expand the service in all major routes of the city,” Balochistan Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili said during the project's inauguration ceremony in Takatu, a suburban locality in Quetta.
Chief Secretary Balochistan Abdul Aziz Uqaili (3rd from right) inaugurates the Green Bus Service in Quetta Pakistan on July 17, 2023. (AN Photo)
Uqaili said 18 stops have been set up for the intra-city bus service which would cover a distance of 18.7 kilometers. Special seats reserved for persons with disabilities have also been installed in the buses, the official added.
Habibullah Lehri, who has worked for the past 15 years with inter-provincial transport companies, has been hired by the provincial government to run the bus service. He said the luxury buses have a capacity to accommodate 30 passengers.
"The government has set a Rs30 ($0.11) fare for commuters which is a reasonable amount for poor citizens,” Lehri told Arab News. He said the Rs30 fare would be applicable throughout the bus service's route from Baleli to Quetta's Sariab Road.
Local commuters travels in the newly launched Green Bus Service in Quetta, Pakistan on July 17, 2023. (AN Photo)
The provincial government bought the fleet of buses in 2021. However, the launch took time as the project suffered delays in handing over the service to private contractors before Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo took notice of it and ordered the project to be completed with minimum delays.
Hikmatullah, a 23-year-old student of the Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Science (BUITMS) travels 20 kilometers from his residence to the BUITMS daily in local buses. He described the project as a reliable commuting service for students.
“The service is good but we will see how long the government maintains it," Hikmatullah told Arab News. "We used to commute in local buses which were not comfortable.”
The chief minister's advisor on transport, Malik Naeem Bazai, said the transport department is engaging with local bus owners to address their concerns over the newly launched bus service.
“We have been planning to remove old buses and provide transporters new buses for a better transport service for the people of Balochistan," Bazai told Arab News.
