The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to launch an electric bus service in Islamabad, with 30 buses set to start operations this week on two city routes. The inauguration ceremony, expected to take place on July 5, will be attended by either the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The buses will ply on two routes, ‘Nust to Pims’ and ‘Pims to Bari Imam’. The first route will cover a distance of approximately 13 kilometers, with 13 stops, and a bus will arrive at each stop every 10 minutes. The second route will pass through several key locations, including G-7, G-6, Melody, Aabpara, Ataturk Road, Serena Hotel, Foreign Office, Radio Pakistan, and the Diplomatic Enclave.

The electric buses, which arrived in Islamabad last month, are part of a larger fleet of 200 buses, with 70 more expected to arrive from Karachi and 60 from China. The CDA has planned to operate these buses on 11 routes, connecting rural and urban areas of Islamabad. The buses are owned by the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Defence, while the CDA will pay Rs306 to Rs331 per kilometer in fare and provide logistics to the contractor. The CDA has installed a charging station with six charging points at the Convention Centre, and another facility is being set up at the H-9 metro depot for the 70 buses arriving from Karachi. The CDA is also working on the construction of bus depots at Zero Point, I-9, and Tramri.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan