WATCH: Electric buses hit Karachi roads

Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Monday announced a new bus service for the people of Karachi comprising of environment-friendly electric vehicles.

According to Express News, these buses are capable of covering a distance of 240 kilometres on a charge of 20 minutes. They will take passengers to their destinations between Sindh Archive Complex and Sea View during the trial run.

Talking to the media after reviewing a test run, Sharjeel said that the electric buses would hit the roads for commuters after 10 days of trial run, saying that the buses will be run on routes with less traffic as they were 12 metres long. The routes of the buses would soon be announced, he added.

He said that the buses would be charged via solar energy and the company responsible for the project would also set up the centres where these buses would be charged.

Read more: Karachi becomes first Pakistani city to run electric buses

"Initially, 50 electric buses have arrived in Karachi. We are trying to set up a manufacturing plant for electric buses in Karachi, for which negotiations are underway with Chinese, European and local companies," he said.

He said that the government was negotiating with two to three big companies of the world to set up plants in Karachi which would also create employment opportunities for locals.

"These electric buses are being imported at twice the cost of hybrid diesel buses. Setting up a plant in Karachi will reduce the import duty and buses will be available at a lower cost," he added.

The minister said that the fare of electric buses will be less than the Red Buses, adding that the project would also be extended to other major cities of Sindh.

Project Director Sohaib Shafiq said that these buses had a sitting capacity of 32 people, 35 to 40 people can travel standing whereas it also has two reserved seats for special citizens.

He further said that a charging unit has been installed at the UP Mor bus depot in North Karachi.