The Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fares per stop are expected to rise by Rs5, with the base fare increasing from Rs15 to Rs20. According to a spokesperson, the maximum fare for the entire BRT route will jump from Rs55 to Rs60 and attributed the increase in transport cost to the recent surge in electricity prices. In Ramazan, the managment changed the timings of two routes of BRT Peshawar to facilitate people in the holy month. In March, an accountability court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar approved the National Accountability Bureau’s plea to freeze 17 bank accounts of the two contractors in a case on the alleged corruption in the BRT project. The court also ordered the national graft buster to seal the residential plots of the contractors as it gave the nod to the orders of the NAB director general. Last year, it was reported that the BRT was facing imminent closure due to the provincial government’s failure to pay around Rs1 billion in dues to five private companies managing different sections of the public transport system.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan