Karachi – Sindh Government seems short in funds whenever it comes to public transport, Yesterday News slide appeared on the private media channels that Sindh Government will introduce 600 new buses in metropolitan city, Karachi.
estimated over 16,000 buses required to meet the target in Karachi, Former Mayor Mustafa Kamal introduced Green Buses ” CNG Powered ” fleed of 50 buses which were not even 1% of required public transport, over the years Karachi’s public transport remained like unchanged melogy, same old mini buses privately owned by Itehad Transport active in Karachi.
Recently Sindh Government issued notification to remove, CNG from public Transport but Today they introduced A fleet of 16 refurbished CNG buses will start operating in the city today from Surjani Town to Merewether Tower.
Now Itehad Transport will bring this point in court, when the government saying NO TO CNG why have they converted Electric Buses into CNG ?
Seriously who would import Electric Buses at first place?
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had directed in September 2014 to bring the buses on road within weeks; however, the government could not meet the deadline and the buses had to wait until now due to non-availability of funds, an official from transport department said.
“The maintenance contractor of the buses is a foreign company which failed to repair the buses on time,” the KMC spokesperson said and did not tell if the government did not pay funds on time which caused the delay. “It costs millions of rupees to repair these electronic buses, which has an alternative ignition system of card in it as well to control different functions.”
He said engineers and spare parts of those hundreds of millions rupees buses had to be brought from Korea. Sadozai said the 16 buses would be run by KMC until it could be auctioned to a contractor. “This is what the government could do. It has bought and repaired the buses and fixed Rs 20 fare for any distance,” he said.
A fleet of 11 other buses was expected soon which would ply on a new route of CNG buses.
16 Refurbished buses will soon be handed over to private contractor and government will carry on without providing basic facility of Public Transport to the citizens.
The story of painful Public Transport continues in Karachi.