Integrated transport: 200 buses to ply Metro feeder routes next month

The service was scheduled for April launch

LAHORE: Two hundred new pubic buses will hit city roads the next month.

In February, the Punjab Mass-transit Authority (PMA) had inked an agreement with Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service for the procurement, operation and maintenance of 200 feeder buses for the Lahore Metro Bus service.

PMA Operations General Manager Syed Uzair Shah said the new buses were in the final stage of manufacturing and would arrive in the country in August. He said in the first phase the buses would run on 14 feeder routes spread over 123 kilometres. “Later, more buses will be inducted to the mass-transit network,” he said.

Shah said the authority aimed to provide public transport to all citizens within 500 metres of their locations. “Induction of 200 buses will help improve integrated bus operations in the City.”

Earlier, it had been announced that the buses would ply on city roads in April. The project was delayed owing to disagreement over terms of the contract between the authority and the operator.

Daewoo Pakistan is investing Rs3 billion for the procurement of the 200 buses including 162 big (70 seats) and 38 small buses. The company says it plans to expand the fleet later.

The company will operate the buses on the feeder routes of the Metro Bus service and bill the PMA on a per-kilometre basis.

The authority will pay Rs165 and Rs140 a kilometre for big and small buses, respectively.

Initially, 200,000 passengers will travel on the buses daily. According to estimates, each bus can transport 1,000 passengers a day.

Official documents indicate that the buses will be equipped with Automated Fare Collection and Bus Scheduling System (AFC-BSS) and GPS tracking devices.

The operator will set up card (ticket) sale and recharge points at 22 localities on the feeder routes as specified by the authority. The sale points will remain open during the bus operation time – tentatively estimated at 18 hours a day.

The operator will provide 15 handheld electronic ticket validators for spot checking, to facilitate PMA assigned ticket inspectors.

The agreement has been signed for six years. It might be extended with the consent of the parties.

The authority plans to run as many as 1,400 standard or mini-buses on 104 routes covering 951 kilometres.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2016.