BRT to get 50 new electric buses as passenger numbers rise

PESHAWAR, Sep 04 (APP):The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to add 50 new electric buses to Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system keeping in view the growing number of passengers and increasing pressure on the existing fleet.

According to the Transport and Mass Transit Department on Friday, the project has been included in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) at an estimated cost of Rs4.989 billion. After administrative approval, the project is expected to be completed within 22 months.

Under the plan, 50 battery-electric buses, each 12 metres long will be purchased along with 15 chargers, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) equipment and other necessary accessories.

The new buses will operate on five new or extended BRT routes covering a combined distance of around 31 kilometres.

The proposed routes include:

Mall of Hayatabad to Jamrud

Pishtakhara to Bara Bazaar via Bara Road

Gulbahar to Dabgari Gardens and

Shah Alam Bridge to Naguman and extension of the Kohat Adda route.

A total of 50 electric buses have been proposed for these five routes.

The Transport Department estimates that the electric buses will save approximately Rs198 million annually in fuel costs and another Rs70 million in maintenance expenses.

This would result in estimated annual savings of around Rs268 million.

Officials expect the addition of new electric buses to provide citizens with improved public transport facilities and help reduce the number of private vehicles on Peshawar’s roads.

According to the project plan, the expanded BRT service could help remove around 80,000 private vehicles from the roads each day, while also easing pressure on the existing BRT fleet and improving transport facilities on new and extended routes.