The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has become the first municipal body in Pakistan to launch a fleet of electric bikes, marking a step toward eco-friendly urban governance.
The initiative was inaugurated on Friday by Mayor Murtaza Wahab at the KMC Head Office, where 20 bikes were handed over to dispatch riders in the first phase. Each bike, costing Rs215,000, comes with a three-year warranty. A charging station has already been established at the KMC headquarters, with more to be set up across the city.
Wahab said the project would not only reduce KMC's expenses but also help tackle climate change and carbon emissions. "As a responsible city government, we have decided not to purchase petrol bikes in the future. pink bikes will soon be provided to female officers as well," he announced.
The mayor recalled that KMC had earlier shifted its head office, parks, and several major roads to solar power, and similar measures were being taken for hospitals and pumping stations. He also announced that Sharae Faisal, Shahrah-e-Iran, and Shahrah-e-Ghalib are being converted to solar energy, with the project scheduled for completion by September 30.
Other green initiatives include a solar park at Kidney Hill, the conversion of Malir's pumping stations to solar energy and a plan to shift five of KMC's 14 hospitals to renewable energy.
Wahab urged the federal government to introduce an installment scheme for low-income groups so that citizens could also switch to electric vehicles.
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