Daily Times

KARACHI: Despite the revival of 32 non-operational Green Busses, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has advertised for re-tender of the already functional 36 buses running successfully for three years, Daily Times has learnt. The metropolitan residents are suffering heavy shortage of public transport, but the KMC calls advertisement for re tender of already functional Green Metro Service since three years successfully on an important route from Gulshan-e-Hadeed via Shahra-e-Faisal to Tower with fleet of 36 Green buses, facilitating around 25 thousands commuters daily. Former Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had claimed that KMC’s wide bodied Green Buses will be functional in the metropolitan on important routes and under the public-private partnership in order to facilitate over 0.5 million passengers per day but only 36 buses were operated and others remained dumped since long. The Sindh government has ultimately failed to operate on different routes as KMC started Green Bus service from Surjani to Merewether Tower but within few months the service stopped and five of the CNG buses were handed over to Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) by the Administrator. The Green Bus service was initiated in 2007 and terminated in Feb 2013; the service had operated on three major routes from Surjani Town to Safoora Goth, Surjani Town to Korangi and Orangi Town to Malir. Talking to the Daily Times, General Manager Green Metro Service (GMS) Mohammed Ashraf Awan claimed that Green buses have been running successfully for the last 2 years but before them the contractors could not manage to run it for even a year. He informed this scribe that despite revival of 32 dumped green buses, the authorities’ concerned have called a re-tender for the operational fleet of 36 green buses which will ultimately halt the running services. Asharaf revealed that the Punjab government is giving Rs 3.5 billion subsidy yearly on metro service in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.