Thirty electric buses to hit roads in Islamabad this week

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has announced to start operation of electric buses this week on two routes in the federal capital.

Thirty electric buses that arrived last month have already completed their trial run on the routes and services will launched for passengers on Friday following an inauguration ceremony.

The inauguration ceremony, expected to be held on July 5, will be attended by either Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

An official privy to the development told a local publication, “The preparations are in progress for holding the inauguration ceremony on July 5; there are chances that the interior minister will inaugurate this bus service.”

The buses will ply on two routes, ‘Nust to Pims’ and ‘Pims to Bari Imam’. Route from Nust to Pims will cover a distance of approximately 13 kilometers, with 13 stops, and a bus will arrive at each stop every 10 minutes.

Another route that will run from Pims to Bari Imran includes stops at Radio Colony, Satara Market, Melody, Aabpara, NADRA Chowk, 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 in a few days. The CDA has set up the facility at the H-9 metro depot. “After starting the operation of 30 buses, we can start the operations of 70 more buses within a few days,” said an official.

Sixty remaining buses will be on their way to Islamabad from China after manufacturing. The CDA has planned to operate these buses on 11 routes, connecting rural and urban areas of Islamabad.