Tourist bus: Service to induct three new buses

Vehicles expected to reach Pakistan by financial year end.

LAHORE: Following the completion of the bidding process, the TDCP is going to open a Letter of Credit (LC) to import three additional double-decker buses for Sightseeing Lahore—the nation’s first tourist bus service.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, TDCP Managing Director Ahmar Malik revealed that the corporation had initiated the LC opening process for importing another shipment of the buses. “We are waiting for a performa invoice. As soon as we receive it our bank will process the LC documents. The buses are expected to reach Pakistan by the end of the current financial year,” he said.

Malik said Sightseeing Lahore had received a phenomenal response from the people. As many as 37,000 tourists have used the service, he said. Malik said the service was inaugurated on November 25, 2015. With only two buses, he said, the TDCP had organised over 615 trips. Of these, Malik said, 80 were arranged for corporate clients while 103 were organised for schools. The figure for schools includes those from Islamabad, Karachi and Gilgit Baltistan, he said.

Malik said the Sightseeing Lahore had become a new attraction in the city. He said the corporation had received many inquiries from different parts of the nation about the service. He said the corporation had been receiving a great number of tourists from Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. Malik said it was also common to host tourists from Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and interior Sindh.

Following improved security across the nation, he said, an influx of foreign tourists was being witnessed. “A good number of foreign tourists have used the service. Most of them were from India, Malaysia, UK, USA, Canada, Germany and China,” Malik said. He said that the conspicuous buses were the first choice of Pakistani expats to tour the city and enjoy with their friends and family. Malik said the service tended to be sold out on Fridays and weekends.

Malik said the corporation would introduce new routes and increase tour frequency following the induction of the new buses. He said Sightseeing Lahore was a service of international standard. Malik said the corporation had looked into similar services in London, Dubai and Budapest at major tourism conventions.

The TDCP MD said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had already given a green light to the service’s expansion. Malik said the Provincial Development Working Party had sanctioned Rs120 million for the acquisition of buses. The TDCP MD said the corporation had earlier imported two custom-made double-decker buses from China for $376,000 each. He said each bus accommodated 67 passengers. Malik said the buses were equipped with a public address system that allowed guides to inform those aboard about the city’s history and sites of interest.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2016.