LAHORE: The government of Punjab has approved the expansion of its electric bus initiative to 10 additional districts, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced during a meeting reviewing progress on mass transit projects.
According to officials, the new electric buses will operate in Attock, Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Khanewal, Layyah, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin and Okara.
The decision was taken during a special meeting that reviewed ongoing work on the mass transit systems in Gujranwala and Faisalabad.
The chief minister directed authorities to accelerate construction and rehabilitation work at metro bus stations and approved updated designs for the facilities.
Passenger usage and fleet expansion
Officials informed the meeting that more than 125,000 passengers had already benefited from the government’s free transport initiative across 21 routes. So far, 3,560 bus trips have been completed under the programme.
According to the transport department, 100 electric buses are expected to arrive later this month. A further 350 buses are scheduled to reach the province by mid-May, while another 264 are due by the end of June.
Authorities also decided to establish dedicated depots for electric buses in each division of the province.
The chief minister further directed officials to prepare a plan to operate up to 1,500 electric buses at the tehsil level in the future.
Additional transport initiatives
The meeting also reviewed progress on Punjab’s first electric taxi scheme, under which 194 e-taxis are expected to arrive in May, followed by another 208 in June.
In addition, plans for installing modern bus stations in Lahore were discussed under the “Empower Her” initiative.
Maryam Nawaz also gave in-principle approval to launch an e-bike scheme aimed at providing transport facilities to government employees across the province.