Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) has accepted the qualifications of two Punjab-based transport companies through open tenders for running Green and Orange Lines under Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Karachi, .Muhammad Ather, Director General SMTA has revealed.

Al- Mubrrak will bring in 80-cabin buses while Faisal Movers will introduce 50 wide body standard busses on Karachi roads.

Giving details of the operation , Ather informed that the companies would commence work on Built-Operate-Operation (BOO) basis soon after completion of on-going projects of Green Bus and infrastructure of roads in Karachi. However the companies have been given December 2017 as deadline to complete the import process of vehicles.

More than Rs 2 billion are said to be spent on the project by these companies and they are entitled to get economic benefit through operation for ten years. They will afterwards hand over the business to SMTA, according to the agreement.

Green Line will start operating from Surjani to Merewether Tower Clock, a 46-kilometers up and down distance while Orange will run its vehicles from Orangi Town to Board of Secondary Education Office Bus Stop, a distance of about 10-kilometers.

Both bus routes will help in transit passengers to elevated federal government funded Green Line bus stations for onward journey.

Construction of a Command and Control System building has been planned on the abundance site of defunct Sindh Road Transport Company Terminal on Garden Road, he further informed.

This Operation and Control Centre (CCC) will control elevated Green Bus scheduling, tracking and alert-management, as well as it will manage passenger information system.

The OCC will house large screen monitors to oversee the point-in-time situation of fleet, status of buses, terminal stations, close circuit television cameras’ images along with corridor may be selectively displayed at the OCC, DG informed.

The OCC will be in a central building of SMTA and will be the main OCC for Karachi transit management centre.

After appointing of a transport management consultant, the system will be undertaken for ensuring Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system.

OCC, communication network/digital transmission system, security and surveillance system, energy management system and bus docking system are some features of the BRTS.

It is pertinent to mention here that these two companies are already providing innovative and sustainable transportation and logistics solutions ensuring safety, comfort, transparency and social responsibilities at Lahore,Islamabad, Murree, Peshawar,Faisalabad, Okara, Sahiwal, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Sadiqabad, Rahimyar Khan, Muzzafargarh, Quetta, Sibi and Gwadar.