To strengthen Islamabad’s public transportation system, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has chosen to introduce metro buses on 13 additional routes.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, said this on Thursday in Islamabad during a news conference. The information minister claims that more routes have been found and will be connected to the metro bus lines that are already in use. According to the information minister, the Capital Development Authority will carry out the project and 123 new buses will travel these routes in phases (CDA).
According to a study by the CDA, the 13 routes are: route from Police Foundation/Orange Line Station to Red Line Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station I-8; Allama Iqbal Station to Red Line Potohar Station; PIMS to Secretariat; D-12 to G-10; F-11 to Red Line F-8 station; G-11 to PIMS; Aabpara to Tramri Chowk; Nilor to Khanna Pul; Pirwadahi Chowk to Faizabad; B-17 to 26 Number Chungi; and I-16 to 26 Number.
It is important to remember that the prime minister had instructed the CDA to speed up the intercity bus service when he opened the Green Line Metro bus service in August. According to sources within CDA, the civic organisation would start the aforementioned bus service on 13 routes through a deal with a private bus business.
They said that two private businesses, Faisal Movers and Daewoo, responded to CDA’s tenders by submitting their offers and that the CDA staff was now reviewing them after opening technical bids. Financial bids would be opened the following week.
According to sources, CDA instructed the private bus company to set up a fleet of 150 buses since up to 128 buses would travel the new routes while the remaining cars would be at the agency’s disposal. The CDA will approve the winning company’s acquisition of 150 buses when the financial bids are opened to determine the per-kilometer pricing for the service. As just 75 buses would arrive in the first phase, they claimed that buses would arrive in Islamabad in two phases.
As stated by a CDA official, the project may take three or four months to complete since the business that receives the contract will need time to buy the buses on the global market.