Peshawar BRT becomes 1st in subcontinent to get Gold Standard Service award

Planning Minister Asad Umar on Friday congratulated Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service in Peshawar being awarded the Gold Standard Service award.

The BRT was inaugurated by then chief minister of the province Khattak in 2020 and received the award on Thursday for providing passenger-oriented, environment-friendly facilities to the people of Peshawar.

A day earlier, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) hailed ZuPeshawar – the operator of the BRT system – on receiving the international award, saying that Peshawar has now become the first city in the subcontinent, third in Asia and 11th globally to receive the Gold Standard.

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The statement issued by the ADB said Dr Walter Hook, a member of the technical committee that evaluates world-class BRTs on the basis of best practices internationally, presented the award to K-P Minister for Higher Education Kamran Bangash on Thursday.

The Gold Standard was awarded to the city for transforming transport through its clean technology buses, promoting non-motorized traffic, and transporting a staggering 250,000 passengers on daily basis, out of which 20% are women.

Earlier, the BRT had also received the certificate of International Sustainable Award by the International Transport Organisation while the UN Women has also honoured the BRT for providing the best and safe travelling facility to women. The BRT, he added, was providing the best possible commuting facilities to its passengers.